Protect
by anifanatical
Summary: After Aizen's betrayal, Soul Society is left in a state of shorthandedness. When the Gotei 13 is short on captains, who else but Kurosaki Ichigo should take their place?  :: Action Humor Romance :: Pairings  IchiRuki, one sided RenRuki :: Collab
1. Chapter 1

Spoiler Warning – The events of this fanfiction take place immediately after the Soul Society arc, rewriting the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo arcs. As such, it may contain major spoilers for anything in the original series up to that point. If you have not finished episode 63 or volume 21 (chapter 182), then read at your own risk. 

Disclaimer – Bleach and all related characters used in this fanfiction are property of Tite Kubo-sama.

Chapter 1 

Ichigo yawned silently and rested his head on his hand as he stared through half-open eyes at the teacher. Today was boring. Since the ordeal in Soul Society, he hadn't much to do except rid the city of random hollows which was second nature to him so much so that he didn't remember doing so later. But anything seemed better than sitting in class right now and he glanced out the window as if hoping to see a hollow prowling somewhere.

Rukia was caught in the middle of a yawn when her cell phone vibrated against her chest. She jumped slightly and carefully took it from her pocket and opened it. Her fine features furrowed slightly and she glanced at Ichito, hoping to catch his attention. But the bright-haired boy was still in his reverie, his eyes dull and focused on nothing in particular.

Rukia scowled before carefully selecting a book. She waited until the teacher had turned away before throwing it as hard as she could at Ichigo's head.

Her precaution to not catch the teacher's attention was wasted however as Ichigo let out an involuntary cry and grasped the spot where the book had hit. After making up a hasty excuse as to why he had yelped, he glowered at Rukia.

"Oh my gosh! Ichigo you're bleeding!" Rukia gasped, jumping up and grabbing the other's arm, forcefully dragging him from the room, "I'll take you to the nurse's office, excuse us!"

Completely ignoring the awkward looks from his classmates, Ichigo waited until they were out of earshot before confronting her. "What the hell was that for?! I figure this is a hollow call right? But you didn't have to throw a book at my head!"

"You weren't paying attention and what other excuse was there for me to use?" Rukia growled back, taking Ichigo outside.

Having no response to her question he completed one last rub of his bruised head with an annoyed frown on his face. "So where is it?" he asked.

"It's near the park, about five minutes away from here." Rukia put away the phone and started to put on the red glove with the flaming skull on the back of the hand.

"Don't bother with that old thing," Ichigo said with a grin. He reached down to his side where a talisman hung by a rope from one of his belt loops. Gripping it firmly with his hand, his soul was instantly separated from his body and he waited for Rukia to find a suitable hiding spot for the motionless thing before continuing with her on his back.

"Almost there," Rukia said, holding onto Ichigo's shoulder with her eyes trained forward, "Should be here somewhere..."

A cloud of dust caught their eye and the hollow emerged from the side of it but not in any offensive position. In fact, it looked as if it were being attacked. A second object flew out of the cloud and darted toward the hollow, which was disintegrating as Ichigo finally reached the battlefield. The dust settled quickly to reveal Renji sheathing his zanpakuto.

"Renji?!" Rukia gasped, staring at the shinigami with surprise as she slid off of Ichigo's back, "What are you doing here?"

"Yo! Nice to see you too, Rukia," he replied humorously, "What took you so long? Too heavy a load for Ichigo to carry so fast?" He bent over so he could look at her face-to-face and smirked.

Rukia scowled at him in turn.

"Are you calling me fat?" Her eyes started to blaze.

"Not at all!" he straightened up laughing and then looked over at Ichigo, "I'm just saying he's is weak."

"Oh. Then that's okay." Rukia gave a small shrug and straightened her skirt.

"What did you say?" Ichigo growled as he grabbed Renji's shihakushou. "And you," he yelled, pointing at Rukia with his other hand, "Why is that ok?!"

"You'll need to get used to it," Rukia responded, "Not everyone is going to respect you, you know," she reminded with a small smirk.

Renji brushed the hand off his clothes. "You'll get in trouble if you harm a Vice-Captain, Shinigami-daikou-san," he teased.

"Are you implying that I _can_ hurt you?" Ichigo said with an angry smile as he reached up to grab Zangetsu.

"Wanna find out?" the other snarled, grabbing his own sword and assuming a fighting stance.

"Stop it!" Rukia snapped, kicking Renji in the face and burying her fist in Ichigo's.

Both of them clutched their faces and glared at her. When the pain subsided Renji stood up again and massaged his nose. "Anyway... You wanted to know why I'm here right? Usually the dispatching of hollows isn't a job for a Vice-Captain. Even a substitute shinigami could do that."

"Then why didn't you leave it up to me?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"But because there's still confusion lingering since Aizen's betrayal," he continued, ignoring Ichigo, "we're a little short on organization so I was sent to clean a few things up here."

"Ah... I can understand that then..." Rukia murmured, looking thoughtful, "No others to take the positions?"

"The captains can't leave Soul Society right now and they need someone of substantial standing in the Gotei 13 in the human world incase Aizen starts anything here. So a few vice-captains have been sent out. Including me."

"Don't I count as 'substantial standing'? I can handle anything that goes on here. I can protect my town." Ichigo said stubbornly.

"Substantial standing in the Gotei 13, idiot. You don't report to Soul Society and we can't even tell whether it's you or Rukia who dispatches the hollows. It all comes in through one cell phone: hers!"

Ichigo couldn't think of any argument and could only clench his jaw tightly out of frustration.

"That gives me an idea..." Rukia said slowly, taking her usual thoughtful stance.

Renji and Ichigo looked at each other with blank expressions then to her inquisitively.

"Ichigo, why don't you become part of the Gotei 13?" Rukia suggested.

The two boys simultaneously let out cries of shock.

"You want him to join the Gotei 13?! " Renji exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the orange-haired shinigami.

"Rukia…" Ichigo looked at her with a stunned appearance.

"I think he could pull it off. He saved more than one shinigami at once before," Rukia stated, "As long as we can impress the others, then we'll be okay," she said.

"He may get in but..." Renji trailed off in mid-sentence. Ichigo was standing with his arms limp at his sides and his eyes fixed on Rukia. They were filled with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. Rukia had given him a chance to protect everyone. "He can't join, he's still human!" Renji's protests cut through his trance.

"What's wrong, Renji?" he asked with a smirk, "Worried that I'll surpass your ranks or something?"

Renji tensed but he replied smoothly, "More worried about the condition of the Gotei 13 if you join. Plus, the only way for you to surpass my rank would be for you to become a captain which is highly unlikely."

"There's no better time to try," Rukia said firmly, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she glanced away, "Renji, you're going to help, won't you...?" She turned to him with a sweet, innocent smile.

Taken aback by her request, he blushed slightly and then looked at Ichigo. He couldn't turn her down so he sighed heavily and agreed to help.

"Thanks, Renji," Rukia murmured, smiling still. She glanced at her watch, "But for now, we better go back to school."

Ichigo helped Rukia settle on his back and before he took off he turned to Renji. "Thanks," he said with a smile. He tried to hide his gratefulness but it showed through in every contour of his face.

Renji stared after them as they left. He moaned and put a hand to his head. Being a high-class shinigami in the Gotei 13 was the only thing he had left over Ichigo. Ichigo had beaten him in Soul Society, he had saved Rukia, he had defeated Byakuya, and Rukia had fallen for him. But no matter how he looked at it, Renji couldn't be mad at Ichigo. He could only help him. "That's what friends are for," he said to the long-gone Ichigo. He summoned a Jigokuchou and went to Soul Society to report a shinigami with interest in becoming a captain to replace the traitors.

Rukia and Ichigo raced back to school, getting Ichigo back into his human body before returning to class.

School was uneventful after that. Rukia looked around after they got out of the building, her face pensive.

Ichigo walked to her, his face turned up to the sky and holding his bag over his shoulder in the usual fashion. He peered at her out of the corner of his eye as he approached.

"Oi Rukia... How exactly are we going to go about this plan of yours?" he asked with his face still upturned.

"I... I'm not really sure..." Rukia admitted softly, "I think I want to contact Nii-sama to help too. He can help train you."

"Byakuya?!" Ichigo exclaimed, surprised. "Will he actually help?"

"I hope so... Maybe we can convince him; you've fought him before right?" Rukia said, looking up at Ichigo, "He knows how powerful you are."

"Was that supposed to be a reason for him to help?"

"It means that he can justify to the others that you are fully capable of doing this. You've fought a few captains and won most of the time."

"Most of the time?" he asked in an insulted tone, "Of the two I fought, I beat them both." He paused in remembering the events of the past month. "Kenpachi and Byakuya..." he trailed off as the realization occurred to him that he had indeed defeated two of the 13 captains. Was he really capable of joining them?

Rukia shrugged.

"I wasn't there, how would I know?" she asked, then without waiting for an answer she continued, "They'll both be able to testify of your strength. And you defeated Soukyoku," she added.

Ichigo continued to walk in silence for a while before saying anything. "Rukia... thank you."

The other blinked and cocked her head slightly.

"Thank you? For what...?"

Another long pause followed. "Nothin'. Never mind." he said simply.

Rukia scowled at him before huffing.

"Fine," she muttered, looking back down at the sidewalk.

Renji stepped lightly onto the ground as he entered Soul Society and made his way swiftly toward the 6th Division building.

Byakuya was there already, filling out some paperwork. He wore his usual blank look, but that was broken once when he glanced at the strand of hair in his face, scowled and huffed it out of his face.

"Taichou," Renji addressed his captain as he entered the room and bowed at the waist. He paused, unable to think of what to say.

The captain's grey-blue eyes glanced up and closed for a moment.

"What is it?" he asked in a normal quiet voice.

Renji stared at him with a similar calm expression though he was struggling with words in his mind. "Who... Who is going to take the place of the traitorous captains?" he asked quickly.

For a moment Byakuya looked startled.

"It... hasn't been decided," he said, getting his cool demeanor back.

"Who do you think could take their places? If they were willing to?" Renji had regained a shred of confidence having seen the momentary confusion on his captain's face. It meant that he wasn't angry with him yet.

"Someone who is strong enough to." A suspicious light glinted in the captain's eyes as he moved to stand.

"What about... the boy. Kurosaki Ichigo?" At this point Renji had to force out the words and avert his eyes momentarily. Now would not be a good time to cause more confusion with anger between captain and vice-captain.

"What about him?" Byakuya asked softly, turning to fully face his vice-captain.

"Would he be able to take one of the positions?"

The captain's brow furrowed and his eyes hardened.

"He has naught but strength."

"But he could be trained," Renji protested finding himself getting more involved. "And he wouldn't be the only one to have gained a captain's seat by brute strength, the 11th division captain doesn't even know the name of his own zanpakuto!"

Byakuya stared Renji down. But he had to admit it; Renji was right. Kenpachi had done that.

"Do you want Kurosaki in the Gotei 13?" he inquired.

The question struck Renji hard and forceful and left him breathless for a moment and speechless for a while more. His eyes dropped to the floor as he probed his mind for an answer. "I..." after another pause he raised his eyes to Byakuya's and said firmly, "I do. Whether I like it or not he is strong and dependable and has proven that he is willing to do anything to protect people. Isn't that what the Gotei 13 is about, captain?"

Byakuya couldn't remember a time when Renji talked like this before. He gave a soft sigh and sat back down in his chair, eyes closed. For a moment he was silent.

"It is, vice-captain."

Renji's determined eyes didn't leave his captain but he didn't reply. He remained quiet and waited for Byakuya to continue.

The captain was silent a few minutes more before continuing. "I will talk with the others... if they agree, then Kurosaki will be probably allowed to start training."

A flood of relief rushed over Renji and a smile crossed his face. He bowed again at the waist and thanked his captain.

Byakuya leaned back slightly against the back of his chair. "Anything else?" he inquired quietly.

"No sir. Thank you again." He turned and left the room trying not to sprint forward with the unexplainable excitement that had overtaken him.

The captain's blue-grey eyes watched Renji go. He gave a soft sigh, looking down at his desk. Those two, Kurosaki and Renji, were similar in the sense that everyone seemed to like them or respect them greatly... The shadow of a smile ghosted across his features before he stood and left the room to talk to the other shinigami captains.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Groaning, Ichigo turned over to face the ceiling. The morning sun was shining in through the window and the drastic change in light blurred his eyes. He rubbed them sleepily and sat up. When he dropped his hand he yelled and jumped back. "Renji?! What are you doing in here?!"

The shinigami was perched lazily on Ichigo's desk as if he'd been waiting for a while. "Where's Rukia?" he asked casually.

"What're you doing in my room?!"

"She's staying here isn't she? Where is she?"

The closet door in Ichigo's room slid open and Rukia hopped out.

"Morning," she greeted, "What is it Renji?"

"Guess what!" Renji jumped down off the desk in front of Rukia with a wild grin on his face.

Ichigo, annoyed at the fact that he was being ignored glared at the both of them from the edge of his bed.

"I told Kuchiki Taichou about Ichigo and he said that he'd talk to the other captains about it!" Renji continued enthusiastically.

"That's wonderful!" Rukia exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together, "Ichigo, there's a chance for you to start your training now!"

"Now...?" Ichigo's eyes were wide and he was sitting motionless on the bed. After a moment he seemed to register what she said, "Wait, training?! I thought I was strong enough to become a captain already!" he cried stubbornly.

"Idiot! Of course you need training! There's more to being a captain that just being strong, y'know," Renji replied.

"Exactly. You need to learn to use Kido too. You noticed, I hope, that other shinigami don't use just their swords," Rukia pointed out.

"Kido... You mean those spells you used to use without your power? Why do I need to learn those? I've never needed them before."

"Because sometimes they can be more useful than a zanpakuto."

"But I don't have time to learn all that," he protested, "I'm still human I still have a life here and..." He trailed off at the end of his sentence suddenly realizing that he couldn't be a captain of Soul Society and continue his life as a human in Karakura.

Here, Rukia frowned faintly. Ichigo was right...

"Maybe you'll get benefits from this," she suggested hopefully.

Ichigo remained silent for a while before standing up and turning toward the window. "Tomorrow, right?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Renji, you'll keep checking back right?" Rukia asked, turning to the vice-captain.

"Of course." he answered simply.

Ichigo stood facing outside for another moment and then said he'd better get ready for school. Renji cast a slightly concerned glance at Rukia before leaving via the window.

"Ichigo...?" Rukia asked softly, approaching the other boy when Renji left.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said as he walked toward the door. Before leaving he paused and turned back to Rukia. "You go ahead. I'll see you at school." His face was plastered with the forced smile he always wore when he was hiding his feelings.

Rukia was silent for a moment.

"All right... Don't be long..." she murmured, half tempted to embrace the other, but lost her courage at the last moment and left.

The water rushing down his face, neck, and back already seemed to help Ichigo. With his eyes closed, he ran his hands through his soaked hair in more an attempt to think than to wash. He sighed heavily and tried to sort things out. What was he thinking trying to become a captain? As he said before, he wasn't dead, he didn't have all of eternity to become stronger and to protect everyone. No, he still had a life that he needed to life now. He was still human even if his soul didn't think so. What did he expect to do? Up and move to Soul Society? Leave Karin and Yuzu and his dad? Give up his friends? But isn't he being selfish now? Should he be worried about himself? Wasn't the goal to protect others? He rubbed his face furiously and shut off the water. The sudden stop of the soothing torrent of water made him furrow his brows as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He looked up at the foggy mirror and walked over to it. With his forearm his wiped a portion clean so that he could see his face and stared at his reflection.

Rukia gazed up at the window to Ichigo's room sadly. She knew it would be a hard choice for the other and she was willing to go either way. After all... it was only a suggestion...

Once he arrived at school, Ichigo was in a somewhat better mood and his happy facade was no longer as prominent.

At lunch, Rukia drew Ichigo aside to talk to him. At first, she was unsure of what to say.

He looked down at her with slight impatience but after a moment he smiled. This time it was an honest smile, a weary one, but honest. "Don't worry, Rukia. I'm ok for now." He paused before continuing, "You said I'd start training first right? That means that I'm not bound by anything for a while. I'll start the training and we'll see how far I can go. If I don't like the way it's going, I'll drop out. But... I want to try." His eyes softened, "You gave me the chance to try..."

"I know... but I wasn't thinking... You have a family, a normal life here," Rukia murmured sadly, "I didn't take that into account... I'm sorry." She looked through the bars that were stationed on the roof so no one could accidentally fall.

He followed her gaze and stared off with distant eyes. "Thank you..." he said softly.

Rukia gave a soft sigh, clasping her hands in front of her. She turned back to Ichigo.

"Ichigo... I--" she was interrupted by the bell and lost her courage.

As if he hadn't heard the bell, he turned to her with a curious expression.

"N-nothing," Rukia said hurriedly before rushing away.

Ichigo stood there looking confused as he watched her speed down the stairs.

Rukia was blushing darkly and had a hand over her mouth. She couldn't tell him! But... she needed to... The shinigami gave a moan, trying to grasp her situation. Tell him, don't tell him... tell him... don't tell him... Why did guys have to be so dense?!

Renji entered and bowed as usual. "Taichou, what did the other captains say?"

Byakuya looked up at Renji.

"They want to think on it," he responded in his usual voice.

"I see," he replied. An awkward silence followed.

Byakuya frowned at the desk in front of him.

"Many captains were for this... but others hesitated... Ukitake-taichou was the one who spoke loudly for Kurosaki."

Renji paused. "May I ask who was against it?"

"Yamamoto-soutaichou, Soifon-taichou and Kurotshuchi-taichou," Byakuya responded.

"Then... you really are for the idea, Taichou?" Renji asked, relived.

"Yes." Byakuya didn't want to elaborate unless asked.

He was used to these simple answers, but still Renji had been hoping for a little bit more of an explanation. And while he didn't want to directly ask his captain to elaborate, he did stand quietly and attentively as if Byakuya hadn't finished talking yet.

The blue-grey eyes glanced up at Renji. Oh more? "Kurosaki has proven himself many times. Not just in power and skills. As you said before, being a captain or vice-captain isn't all about having power."

Renji couldn't help but smiling a little. "How long until they reach a decision?"

"Soon perhaps." Here, Byakuya shifted slightly, "Rukia... how is she...?"

Another smile took root on the vice-captain's face, but this time it was softer and understanding. "She's doing fine." He couldn't find any more words that could even remotely help him explain to his captain the happiness he sensed from Rukia when he went to see her. He couldn't explain her expression or her mood. He couldn't explain any of it. "She's fine," he repeated softly.

"Good." Byakuya stood, "I'm going to inquire to Yamamoto-soutaichou once more. Come."

"Ah! Yes sir." Renji followed quickly and obediently.

Byakuya walked briskly along the open hallways, pausing when he nearly ran into someone emerging from a room. It was Hitsugaya.

"Hi...Hitsugaya-taichou!" Renji bowed slightly.

"Excuse us," Byakuya murmured, bowing slightly as well before striding past the white-haired captain.

"It won't do any good to pester him," Hitsugaya said, guessing what the two were up to. The other captain ignored him.

"Excuse us," Renji repeated after his captain and bowed again before catching up to him.

Byakuya paused at the doors and took a small breath before pushing them open. The elderly captain sat at the back of the room, his back to them.

"Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai-fukutaichou," he addressed them coolly and turned to face them, "What is it?"

Renji bowed low at the waist and remained silent for his captain to speak.

"The request concerning Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya said respectfully, "How long will it take for it to be decided?"

Wrinkles appeared on the captain's bald head and his narrow eyes opened slightly and he peered at them from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "It will be decided when the time is right," he responded firmly.

Byakuya wasn't satisfied with this answer.

"Soutaichou, everything is in disorder. The divisions without captains are suffering because of it. They have no orders; the vice-captains are at losses..."

"I said it will be decided when the time is right," the older man interrupted, a bit angrily.

Renji's eyes darted quickly from one to the other. He was content with the answer given by Yamamoto-soutaichou, but why was his captain pressing so for a decision?

Byakuya's jaw tightened but he bowed.

"Very well..." Then he turned and walked out, his aura building from his frustration.

Renji bowed yet again and followed his captain out. He watched him closely waiting for him to calm down slightly before questioning. Once he felt confident enough he asked, "Taichou, why did you insist on an answer?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Byakuya asked quietly.

"Well I... I mean... Yes..." Renji stammered. He was sure Yamamoto-soutaichou knew those things and was taking them into account, yet Byakuya persisted. It almost seemed to Renji that his captain was just as impatient as Rukia, Ichigo, and himself.

"Then that should be reason enough." The other turned away to look out over the walkways to where other shinigami milled about on the ground.

Renji didn't reply and followed Byakuya's gaze though he wasn't particularly focusing on anything that he saw. "I wonder what he really thinks of this," he thought as he peered at his captain from the corner of his eye.

"Renji." The captain's blue-grey eyes turned to his vice-captain once more, "You and I shall prepare Kurosaki for what may fall upon him."

"Eh?! Me? And YOU?!" Renji's eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly ajar from shock.

"Clearly you aren't able to comprehend what I am saying." Byakuya looked at the other skeptically, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Renji hastily regained most of his composure. "I'm sorry, sir. However, why us? And," he paused unsure of whether or not this was a safe question, "Why do you want to help?"

"Rukia believes in him. She's my little sister... do I not have a right to give her what will make her happy?"

After a moment Renji smiled. "Of course. Forgive me." He bowed and when he rose he wore a mischievous smirk on his face. "What did you have in mind?"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, watching Renji. After a bit, his own smirk adorned his face, but disappeared almost immediately.

"Hard training."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Ichigo stretched as the bell rang and put his books into his bag before standing. He turned to face Rukia and waited.

Rukia stashed her things in her own bag before walking to Ichigo, her eyes bright as usual. That lunch was a close encounter... she just hoped he wouldn't bring it up again.

"Ready?" he asked simply, swinging his bag over his shoulder and heading toward the door.

"Yep." Rukia trotted along beside Ichigo, still no taller than his elbow.

Many students were rushing out talking of various activities for the weekend. "You wanna go see a movie?" "You've got to come listen to this CD!" "Are you going to watch the new episode?"

Once out of the building and down the road where not as many people were around Ichigo finally asked, "Training tomorrow right?"

"I believe so... Nii-sama hasn't called yet..." Rukia looked down at her cell phone for a moment before pocketing it.

"Where am I supposed to be training? I still don't know what I'm supposed to do either."

"I hope Renji shows up soon... Neither of us have any idea what we're doing!" Rukia complained.

Ichigo sighed and looked up at the sky as if the red-haired messenger would soar down any second.

"Rukia." The shinigami jumped and whipped around before letting her jaw drop. Since... when did Byakuya go anywhere without the kenseika? His hair was down completely, flowing over his broad shoulders. Oddly enough, he pulled off the black suit very well, better than an average human could.

"Yo!" Contrasting his captain greatly, Renji was dressed more sloppily. A large shirt fell over the top of baggy jeans from which a chain was dangling. His red hair was in its usual style and his tattooed forehead was covered with a brightly colored bandana.

Rukia gaped.

"Y... you came...?" she breathed, almost overwhelmed. Byakuya didn't seem out of place at all, just... stunning...

"Of course. Kurosaki, you will be trained by Renji first."

Having not said anything yet, Ichigo's face was a pure expression of stunned confusion. After a moment it seemed that some realization reached him and he thrust a finger at them. "What the heck are you two doing here?!"

"Oi, oi, oi..." Renji replied in an annoyed tone, "Didn't he just tell you?" He grinned evilly, "We're going to be training you. You'll be going with me first."

"You?! Why do I have to be trained by-" He cut off in mid sentence as the last part of Renji's comment registered. "Wait... first? Who...?" He looked over to Byakuya with wide eyes and a half-open mouth.

"If, by chance, you are voted captain, you need to have the training." The response from Byakuya was reasonable and had Rukia nodding.

"Well I've gathered that much but..." Ichigo continued staring at Byakuya for a moment before straightening up. "Whatever. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow." Rukia sputtered at the answer.

"But Nii-sama... I..." she trailed off as Byakuya gave a faint shake of his head.

"Tomorrow, Rukia."

"Alright. Where?" Ichigo continued questioning despite Rukia's awkward outburst.

Here Byakuya paused. Rukia watched him intently, waiting for the answer.

"You think of a secluded place," he finally stated.

"Secluded place?" Ichigo looked confused. "I guess I kinda figured we would be going to Soul Society."

"Idiot!" Renji remarked. "We don't have permission to train you yet. We don't know whether you're going to be a captain or not so we really shouldn't be acting anyway. We can't train in Soul Society."

Ichigo simply looked back, with small traces of shock in his eyes and lining his mouth. Then he focused on the ground as the mentally probed the city for a safe place to train. Then he remembered, "What about Urahara's place?"

Rukia nodded in agreement, "I'm sure he'd help us." Byakuya gave a faint nod.

"Very well then." He gave a faint sigh, the only one in the group who'd never been to Urahara's place.

"Alright then, we'll get over there first thing tomorrow. Renji, you know the way?" Ichigo clarified.

"Yea but will he be willing to let a captain and vice captain in randomly?"

"He knows you right? Byakuya should be able to get in fine then. Right, Rukia?"

"Right," Rukia agreed with a smile. Byakuya looked away for a moment.

"Tomorrow then. Renji, come."

When he got home, Ichigo changed into regular clothes and went downstairs for dinner with is hyperactive family whose conversation tonight went right through Ichigo's head without sticking at all. After he finished his meal he began to grab a second plate for Rukia. "Dad, I'm going out early tomorrow and probably won't be back until late," he said absentmindedly.

"All day on a Saturday? She must be really special! GOOD JOB ICHIGO! GO GET 'EM!" Isshin teased.

"Daddy! Don't say that!" Yuzu cried desperately.

Ichigo watched his family for a minute before turning and heading upstairs.

"Ah! Ichi-nii! You're eating upstairs again?!"

"I'll bring the dishes back down," he called back. When he opened the door to his room he knocked on the closet and presented the dinner to Rukia.

"Thanks," Rukia said, taking the plate and starting to eat gratefully.

"Well I think I'll get to sleep now. I'll never hear the end of it if I'm already worn out when I start training with Renji." He went to change in the bathroom, came back, and crawled into bed.

"Good plan," Rukia agreed, putting the plate aside when she was finished, "Nervous?"

Only soft snores replied. The boy was already fast asleep, his peaceful face resting against his pillow. He was curled up in his blankets and the light from the setting sun delicately lit his soft face.

Rukia blinked in surprise before smiling. She carefully got off her makeshift bed and crept towards Ichigo. "It looks like you'll never find out hm?" she murmured, admiring the other. She turned away before she was tempted to kiss him and retreated back to the closet, closing the door.

Going to sleep early allowed Ichigo to wake up before usual. He pulled himself out of bed and got ready quickly and quietly so as not to wake his family. He tapped lightly on Rukia's door.

The door slid open after a moment, Rukia was completely dressed. "Ready to go?" she asked, hopping out.

"Yup. Come here," he bent his knees and motioned for her to climb onto his back, "I'll carry you out so it doesn't sound like more than one pair of footsteps going through the house. Unless you'd rather go through the window."

"That's fine." Rukia climbed onto Ichigo's back and clung to him so she wouldn't fall off.

He wrapped his arms behind him to support her and straightened up with ease. Quietly they went through the house and exited through the front door. Once they were outside he let her slide off his back to the ground. "Alright then, let's go."

Rukia landed neatly on the ground and started off towards Urahara's place.

When they arrived, Urahara was waiting at the door.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-san, Kuchiki-san," he greeted them cheerfully.

"Urahara," Rukia greeted, "Ichigo's here to be trained by Renji and my brother." Urahara gazed at her for a moment before laughing.

"Is that so? More fighting? Whatever for?"

Ichigo didn't reply right away, only wondered what the shop owner's reaction would be.

"Well?" Urahara pressed.

"I... thought Ichigo could take the place of a vice-captain or captain..." Rukia mumbled.

Urahara stared at them over the top of his fan. "Join the Gotei 13, eh?" he confirmed quietly. Then his face suddenly burst into a smile and he opened the door. "Well that would explain why these two came here last night!" He presented the 6th division captain and vice captain sitting in a far room.

"Ah, Nii-sama," Rukia greeted with a bow, "Morning Renji."

Ichigo merely nodded. "Alright then. I'm ready for this training of yours."

"Follow me please!" Urahara called cheerfully leading them to a particular tatami mat that he flipped open to reveal a long ladder into his underground chamber. "Please train down there to reduce the damage done to my shop," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," Rukia said with a bow. Byakuya went with them, his expression neutral.

Renji and Ichigo, having already entered the room numerous times, went right to business. Each separated from his own gigai and began warming up.

"I hope you know this isn't gunna be easy," Renji jeered as he tightened his hair band.

"I hope you know I'm not going to go easy on you even though you're supposed to be the one teaching," Ichigo replied, stretching.

Renji smirked. "Good."

"Don't kill each other," Rukia called, shaking her head. Byakuya only remained silent. If things got too rough, it would be easy for him to stop it.

Ichigo grabbed the hilt of Zangetsu and assumed a fighting stance. But Renji only leered at him.

"I'm afraid you won't be using your zanpakuto. You've got to learn the kido remember? You're going to have to fight me using spells alone," he explained as he drew his sword.

Byakuya was gone from his perch beside Rukia and snatched the sword from Ichigo and set it beside him when he returned.

"Kido, Kurosaki," he stated and Rukia couldn't help the giggle.

Ichigo gaped at them with his hands open as if he was still holding his sword. "But I don't know any of those spells! Didn't they have some long chant or whatnot? I don't know any of that! Plus, you all know that I don't know how to control my reiatsu!"

"Now is a great time to learn then, Kurosaki-san." Urahara had come down, too, and was watching from a high rock ledge. His eyes were hard and surveyed them all from above.

"Some of them do have long chants," Rukia admitted, "But those can be the more powerful ones. Just work on memorizing them and they'll be as easy as slaying hollows."

"So what you're just going to throw me in a fight with Renji without a sword and expect me to learn them off the top of my head?!"

"Renji will teach you one and have you practice it," Byakuya stated, his voice still quiet but it carried easily, "Practice it until you get it right."

"Let's start with Shakkahou. Try to remember the words. I'll go slow." Renji turned and directed the palm of his hand at a nearby rock wall. He continued, pronouncing each word strongly and clearly, "Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south! Hadouno Sanjuuichi: Shakkahou!" After he finished, a red ball of energy shot from his hand and hit the wall, blasting away much of the rock. "There, now you try, hit me with the blast." At that moment, he leapt forward drawing his zanpakuto.

Ichigo was stunned for a moment but dodged quickly so that Renji's sword struck the rock. "I'm supposed to pick that up after one example?!"

"You don't have much of a choice!" Renji called as his attacks continued.

"Dammit," Ichigo cursed under his breath. He racked his brain for the exact words Renji had said while dodging the sword strokes. "Ye Lord... Mask of... blood and flesh... bears the name of man... pandemonium… sea... Hadouno Sanjuuichi: Shakkahou!" He cried with frustration, thrusting his palm out in Renji's general direction. There was an explosion and Ichigo flew back and slammed hard against a rock. His face was charred.

Renji emerged from the dust and laughed, "The only thing that managed to do was blind me for a second!"

Rukia giggled.

"It was a good try! You had it close!" she called. She glanced up at Byakuya, finding that he had an expression of amusement on his face.

Ichigo coughed violently before up-righting himself. His breath was raspy as it came back after being forced out by his impact with the rock. "What were the words again?" he panted. He hadn't been discouraged by the first failure and after Renji repeated the spell, he motioned for the attacks to continue. This time, instead of dodging, Ichigo deflected the blade by hitting Renji's wrist and he spun and kicked him forward to throw him off balance. He threw his hand forward again and called, "Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south! Hadouno Sanjuuichi: Shakkahou!!!" This time a blast of fiery red reiatsu shot from his palm but unlike Renji's which was compact and headed straight for his target, Ichigo's ball was enormous and it shattered within a second, sending powerful shreds of spirit energy off in all directions. Ichigo was blown back again but landed on his feet and skidded backwards. He fell to his knee and grasped his hand. It had been burnt and cut from the force of the explosion.

Renji had escaped the direct blast but was still caught by the fragments and his shihakushou was ripped at the shoulders and legs and he had small cuts along his arms and on his face.

Rukia stared in amazement and Byakuya frowned slightly.

"Too much Ichigo," he called softly, "You need to learn to control it. You might've killed Renji if he hadn't moved." Rukia bit her lip, worried.

Still holding his hand tightly he looked at Byakuya and took in his commands but didn't respond.

"Ready for another try?" Renji called, wiping the blood from his face.

"Yea," he replied simply. He slowly released his hand and winced slightly but resumed a fighting stance. "C'mon."

Again Ichigo managed to dodge the blade and cast the spell. It was somewhat more controlled this time. It was smaller and held its shape for longer but it still exploded and the force still scorched his hand. They kept repeating the spell but after a point, it didn't seem that he could manage to get the ball of energy any smaller or any more controlled.

Byakuya watched intently, frowning the whole time. Ichigo just had too much reiatsu. Any more than that and he could cause a fatal explosion. He glanced at Rukia beside him, seeing how she fidgeted with her dress and fingers. It was easy to tell she was nervous.

After another clash the two fighters skidded away from each other and paused to catch their breath. Ichigo clutched at his damaged hand but didn't remove his eyes from his opponent. Nor did Renji's eyes leave him. They both looked desperately in need of the moment's rest.

"That's enough," Byakuya stated, suddenly in the arena, "Rest. Both of you."

Ichigo gratefully dropped to the ground and leaned against a rock with his face upturned to help regulate his breath and heartbeat. Renji's stance dissolved instantly and he proceeded to wipe his face clear of blood from the countless minor scrapes across it.

Rukia came over to Ichigo to congratulate him on his progress and also to look him over before going to Renji.

He accepted her praise but responded with slight skepticism. "There's more than just one spell," he sighed.

"One spell is better than none," Rukia assured him with a smile, standing to go to Renji.

Ichigo inspected his hand, which was slightly burnt and slashed in several places and was mostly numb from the repetitive shock of each blast. He sighed again and slowly maneuvered it in an attempt to regain some feeling.

Having sheathed his zanpakuto and cleaned most of his face with the exception of a few cuts, which bled profusely despite being so shallow, Renji addressed Rukia as she approached. "He's gotten better since the first blast but now it doesn't look like he can get it any more controlled."

"Too much reiatsu," Rukia sighed, taking out the bandages and gauze pads that she'd gathered before starting to patch Renji up.

"Maybe if we used a spell that requires more reiatsu... then he wouldn't have to try to lower the power as much," he said thoughtfully as she cleaned the cuts.

"We could try that. It would require a harder spell though," Rukia pointed out, "but that shouldn't be a problem for him..."

"It's worth a shot."

"We'll let him learn the simpler ones now." Rukia jumped as her brother appeared out of nowhere, "You two will rest for another few minutes then start again."

"Yes sir," Renji replied without hesitation, "However, he can't get his reiatsu under control."

"I know. He will need to learn how to do that as well," Byakuya responded quietly, "Surprise Kurosaki." Then he returned to the ledge without telling Ichigo.

Ichigo watched the others converse quietly with a miffed expression on his face. He knew full well they were talking about him. He also knew that Renji's wounds had been treated but his hand was still in poor condition. He used the sleeve of his shiahakushou to carefully wipe the scrapes clean. He glanced up in the direction of the others but yelled and rolled to the side just fast enough to evade Renji's sudden attack.

"Break's over!" he jeered as he effortlessly freed his blade from the rock. Ichigo quickly got to his feet and prepared for the second round.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Rukia scrambled up the ledge to safety and watched worriedly. She'd forgotten to tend to Ichigo. Byakuya didn't seem bothered by the situation. He shed his jacket, draping it over his arm and loosened the tie.

Renji halted his attacks and motioned for Ichigo to relax a bit. "Let's try another spell now. We'll come back to Shakkahou later. We'll do Soukatsui now." Again he directed his hand at a rock and recited the spell: "Ye Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, Upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadouno Sanjuusan, Soukatsui!" A flash of blue reiatsu shot from his hand and branched out like lightning toward the wall, which shattered. "The incantation is almost the same as Shakkahou. Just a few parts are changed so it should be easy for you to get. Plus it's a bit more powerful and more widespread so you won't have to worry about controlling the reiatsu to such the same extent but still try to refrain from blowing up this little room," he finished with a smirk.

"Alright," Ichigo replied, assuming his fighting stance again.

As Renji came at him, Ichigo spoke the incantation perfectly. The blue reiatsu bolted from his hand and spread out like Renji's had, only to a greater extent, blasting the nearby rocks into shards that flew dangerously about.

Rukia gasped and jumped back as a rock shard buried itself into the ledge where she had been previously. Byakuya didn't move as the rocks fell around him. When one came close, he simply knocked it aside.

"Didn't I say not to blow up the room?" Renji called from the top of a tall rock where he had sought refuge from the shards. "That was good! Just try to control it a bit more. Let's go!" He cried as he jumped down and sped towards Ichigo with his sword raised.

Ichigo waited until the last moment before dodging and then spun around to cast the spell while Renji was still recovering from the drop. Again the incantation was flawless and the reiatsu was considerably more controlled and managed to strike the side of Renji's arm as he came in for another attack.

"Excellent," Byakuya murmured, but it was easily heard by everyone, even the fighters, "Much, much better." Rukia grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Renji darted toward Ichigo again, threatening him with persistent attacks. Managing to get along with minimal injuries by dodging and blocking every so often, Ichigo was casting the spell in every free moment he could get. He was able to judge the time it took for him to recite the words in comparison to how much time before an attack and was then able to determine when he was able to cast it.

He kicked at an opening in Renji's defense, which knocked the blade off balance, and he jumped to the side to attack. However, unlike the other times where Renji had purposely left time for Ichigo to get the words out, he followed through with the abrupt motion of the deflection and swung around to slash at his opponent. Startled, Ichigo forgot to say the incantation and called out, "Hadouno Sanjuusan, Soukatsui!" The reiatsu shot from his hand, straight for the shocked Renji who was thrown back against a rock. Ichigo, too, was injured because of the chantless spell. A few branches had shot back at him, ripping at his arm and nicking his face.

"Ichigo! Renji!" Rukia shouted, moving to help. Byakuya stopped her before going forward himself. The captain quickly moved to where the two boys.

"Stop." He shot both sides looks before going to Ichigo first. Meanwhile, Rukia rushed off to tend to Renji. Byakuya stopped in front of Ichigo, watching the younger man for a moment before offering a hand to help him up.

Ichigo reached up with his uninjured arm and was pulled to his feet. The other arm he pulled in close to his body to stifle some, if any, pain.

Renji coughed violently as Rukia approached. His shihakushou was in worse condition than it had been and his bandana had been reduced to a few shreds. His arms were cut badly from blocking his face.

"Oh..." Rukia paused slightly in her pace before dropping next to Renji, "It's a stupid question to ask if you're all right..." she mumbled, immediately starting to patch him up again.

The light caught Byakuya's face differently, making it look like he was smiling at Ichigo, "Well done. You've improved..." he paused, "faster than I did."

Unsure if he was imagining a compliment from Byakuya or not, Ichigo stared simply for a moment before the pain of his arm seared through his mind and his face contorted in discomfort. Having been in direct contact with the powerful discharge, his arm had been decorated with fairly deep gouges in several places and the wounds on his hand had been refreshed.

"Come." Byakuya motioned for Ichigo to follow him as he walked over to his vice-captain and Rukia.

Renji's body was mostly just in shock from the impact with the hard rocks and the rest of his injuries only ranged from minor scratches to the gashes on his arms which Rukia was already working. Air had refilled his lungs and he had already regained a controlled breathing pattern and was able to talk huskily as they approached. "Well that was unexpected," he chuckled and coughed slightly before continuing, "Good job."

Rukia smiled at Ichigo.

"I'll be with you in a moment," she murmured, shushing Renji and continuing her work.

Urahara appeared suddenly from behind them. He commented happily, "Impressive, Kurosaki-san. And you were training him well, Fukutaichou-san. Allow me to help treat the wounded?"

"Urahara-san! You were still watching?" Ichigo asked, having forgotten that the ex-shinigami was even in the room with them.

"If you would, Urahara, that would be helpful," Rukia murmured after a hesitation. Byakuya moved back to simply watch.

Ichigo carefully extended his arm for Urahara to heal. After a moment he asked, "How come the spell worked even without the words?"

For a moment, everyone blinked. Who was Ichigo talking to?

"Perhaps because you had enough reiatsu?" Rukia offered weakly.

"While the kido require the incantation, it isn't always necessary," Urahara explained, "However, excluding the words will limit the amount of power released. Usually it takes much more training to be able to cast chantless kido. The reason why you were able to do it so early may just be your determination."

"Or first instinct," Byakuya muttered and Rukia giggled at the comment. She moved back from Renji and brushed her dress off when she straightened.

"Er... what's next...?" she asked softly. Byakuya glanced at her.

"We're done for today. Tomorrow will be slightly different. Same time, same place."

When Urahara had finished healing Ichigo's arm to a point at which it was then manageable by normal medicine, they stood. Ichigo turned to face Rukia. "Are you coming home with me or do you want to stay here with Renji and Byakuya?"

"I'll come home," Rukia answered immediately, trotting to Ichigo. Byakuya glanced down at Renji. It was obvious how the redhead felt about Rukia.

"Thanks for letting us use your shop, Urahara-san," Ichigo said as entered into his body. Once they were outside walking home Ichigo offered Rukia his back again.

The girl hopped up on Ichigo's back and clung to his shirt like usual.

Byakuya gave a soft sigh before looking down at Renji again. "You never say anything."

"Say anything?" Renji blushed slightly but still played dumb.

Byakuya leaned lightly against the wall, looking up now.

The vice-captain dropped his eyes to the ground, knowing full well that he wasn't fooling his captain. After a while he said quietly, "I don't need to. As long as she's happy then it's fine with me."

"And if she harbors feelings for you?"

Renji's eyes continued to gaze at the ground and another moment's pause followed. He tilted his head slightly and smiled. "It wouldn't matter."

The captain looked down at Renji with a slightly curious look. He gave a sigh before shaking his head slightly.

"Very well." He pushed himself off the wall and strolled away.

Raising his eyes, Renji called after Byakuya, "What about you, Taichou? You were worried about her, but you never asked her how she was."

Byakuya paused and turned back to Renji.

"I don't need to ask if I can see her with my own eyes," he replied simply.

Renji thought over the reply and then chuckled softly. He, too, could plainly see how happy Rukia was.

The captain watched Renji for a moment before walking away.

Rukia stretched out on Ichigo's bed on her stomach, doing just the bit of homework she and Ichigo had been given that day at school.

Ichigo entered through the front door after having let Rukia go in through the window so as not to look suspicious. His family was in the main room watching TV and when he came in they greeted him enthusiastically. When his sisters jumped and wrapped their arms around him he winced slightly from the pain of his arm but chuckled and commented on their hyper moods. Isshin laughed loudly and eyed Ichigo's arm.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked in a teasing tone as he punched it playfully.

"Agh! I just fell," he replied rubbing the spot where the punch had landed. "Anyway, what's for dinner? I'm starving!"

After the dinner that Yuzu had made, Ichigo grabbed a second plate as usual and retreated upstairs to serve it to Rukia.

Rukia was now on her back in Ichigo's room, looking up at the ceiling.

"Your family sure is hyper tonight," she commented with a smile, sitting up.

"You don't have to tell me," Ichigo smiled and sat down beside her, handing her the plate.

The other grinned, taking the plate.

"How's your arm?" she asked after a few bites.

He massaged it again. "It still hurts a bit but it's fine."

"I hope it'll be better by tomorrow." Rukia paused at her own comment before adding quickly, "It won't be easy to train with that."

Ichigo laughed softly, stretched, and fell back onto the bed. "Training isn't easy anyway."

When Ichigo landed on the bed, Rukia was bounced into the air and then landed with her upper body on Ichigo's chest.

His eyes widened and he blushed darkly.

Rukia gasped and moved off, also blushing.

"Sorry..." she mumbled, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Ichigo also sat up and faced away from Rukia, his face gradually getting redder.

Rukia put a hand over her racing heart, trying to calm it. After a bit she got off the bed, mumbling a quick goodnight before retreating into the closet.

After watching her climb into the closet, Ichigo ran a hand over his face and sprawled out on his bed, facing the ceiling again. The position revived the feelings from a moment before and the blood raced back to his face.

Rukia woke up the next morning, partially forgetting what had happened last night. However, it soon came back to her and made her blush darkly as she got dressed. Rukia pushed the door of the closet open, peeking out to make sure it was all right before hopping out.

Ichigo was already dressed and ready to go to Urahara's shop for today's session.

"Morning," Rukia mumbled when she saw Ichigo. She wasn't able to look at him for long though...

"Morning. Ready?" He offered his back to her again.

"Er... yeah." Rukia hopped up, banishing any weird thoughts or feelings.

Once they reached the Urahara Shouten, he let Rukia slide off and Urahara let them in.

"Good morning," Byakuya greeted quietly as he walked past.

"Ah! Nii-sama, good morning," Rukia called after him. Then she blinked. He was wearing his normal shinigami clothing again and it was open.

"Alright Renji, I'm ready for round two," Ichigo said when the tired red-head entered.

"So am I," Renji replied with a smirk, "But unfortunately I'm not the one training you today."

"Nii-sama is...?" Rukia asked, sounding a bit nervous now.

"I won't kill him," came Byakuya's voice from another room.

"Byakuya?" Ichigo asked with slightly confusion littering his voice. After a moment he shrugged, "Alright. Let's get going then."

Byakuya walked past them again, handing Ichigo his zanpakuto before going to the underground training area beneath Urahara's shop. Rukia followed her brother at a respectful distance.

Ichigo left his body upstairs this time and jumped as a shinigami down into the hollowed-out room, landing carefully so as not to hurt himself. Renji yawned as he sat on the ground to watch.

Rukia sat next to Renji, pulling her dress over her legs as she sat cross-legged.

Byakuya drew his own zanpakuto and faced Ichigo. "Basic combat with kido," he stated quietly.

"Alright," was Ichigo's simple answer as he raised Zangetsu and assumed a fighting stance.

Byakuya watched Ichigo, silently disapproving of his stance. But he didn't comment as he started towards the other.

Watching the movements of the attacker, Ichigo waited for the right moment to do anything. He was also trying to determine whether or not to use the incantations or work on skipping them.

"Do them properly first," Byakuya murmured before rushing forward to stab Ichigo.

Caught off-guard by Byakuya's perfect interpretation of his own thoughts, Ichigo was forced to clumsily dodge Byakuya's attack instead of countering it as he had planned on doing.

Byakuya didn't pause in his actions, swinging his zanpakuto elegantly to strike at Ichigo's back.

Ichigo rolled forward to evade the blade and swiftly got to his feet again and charged at Byakuya with an instinctual yell.

"You don't need to give your position away," Byakuya murmured, moving away from Ichigo's attack and following up with, "Byakurai." White lightning shot from his fingers and right at Ichigo's chest. Rukia tensed and held in a whimper.

Ichigo quickly sidestepped but the streak of reiatsu grazed his arm. Ignoring the minor wound, he shot forward, this time clenching his jaw to prevent from shouting. He swung his sword horizontally upon reaching Byakuya.

Byakuya stepped on the blade, forcing Ichigo to either drop it or go with the motions. Then he used his own sword to slash at him.

Ichigo followed through with the momentum forced on him and rolled forward past Byakuya and spun around swung up diagonally.

Byakuya dashed past the attack. He then circled Ichigo once, looking for a weakness before striking at Ichigo's shins.

Jumping just in time, the blade only scratched at Ichigo's sandals. While he rose into the air, Ichigo drove his blade down toward Byakuya.

Byakuya frowned in disapproval but swung his blade upward and stabbed Ichigo's stomach. Using the rock flooring, he pushed off the floor and therefore shoved Ichigo back. Rukia gasped, jumping to her feet.

"Do not interfere," Byakuya ordered sharply.

A short howl of pain escaped Ichigo's mouth as the blade struck.

"You left yourself open. I'm behaving as any other enemy would." Byakuya watched Ichigo slide to the ground without helping him up.

Coughing up blood, Ichigo grasped his midsection but got to his feet as quickly as possible. His eyes focused back on Byakuya and he resumed his stance though it was unsteady and visibly full of easy targets.

Byakuya frowned again. There was no way Ichigo could continue. But... this was training. So, he rushed forward again, blade poised for the fatal blow. Rukia trembled, clutching the fabric of her dress.

Renji eyed her and then sighed. "He'll be fine," he assured her, "Watch."

Rukia whimpered, nervous still.

Byakuya buried his sword in the rock next to Ichigo's head. "Lay down." Then he sheathed it and walked away.

Wide eyed, Ichigo watched the captain leave. Then he slumped to the ground and held his stomach again. "Damn," he grunted.

Rukia rushed towards Ichigo to help him.

"Ichigo," she breathed, pushing open the other's clothing to wrap the wound.

He winced and gasped sharply as she began to treat it and tilted his face toward the ceiling. "That went terribly," he managed.

"It's all right..." Rukia soothed, starting to clean the wound, "Nii-sama shouldn't have done that..."

"No, he did what anyone would do in that situation. I'll never get any better if they go easy on me."

"But... he shouldn't have..." Rukia trailed off and looked down before continuing her work in silence.

Ichigo watched her and then sighed. "Thanks," he said softly.

Rukia blushed but only nodded. In the distance, Byakuya rolled his eyes. Exactly how dense was Ichigo?

Renji addressed his captain casually as he approached, "You went pretty far."

"Did you expect something less?" Byakuya inquired in turn.

"He can't learn everything right away," was Renji's simple reply.

"No. But he can learn through his mistakes," Byakuya replied.

A small smile was all that Renji had to offer for his response.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment. Instead, he engaged in a staring contest with his vice-captain.

When Rukia had finished, Ichigo got to his feet and stretched cautiously. "Byakuya, I'm ready," he called.

Byakuya glanced over at Ichigo. Then he waited for Rukia and Renji to get back on the ledge.

Once they were safely out of range, Ichigo resumed his stance for the third time and called for Byakuya to start.

However, the captain didn't move.

Ichigo blinked. "Alright then," he hesitated and then rushed forward, "I'll start!" He ran swiftly toward Byakuya with zangetsu riding along beside him ready for another horizontal attack.

Byakuya frowned slightly but waited until Ichigo was nearly there before performing the Byakurai once more.

Again the spell only scratched Ichigo but this time on his face. He flinched slightly but kept charging forward. He slashed at the captain forcefully.

Byakuya simply moved aside before kicking Ichigo's zanpakuto. Then he used his own sword to slash at Ichigo's already injured middle.

Ichigo allowed himself to drop to the ground to get under the stroke path of the sword. He rolled muttering something and jumped to his feet. Instantly he thrust out his hand and yelled, "Hadouno Sanjuusan, Soukatsui!" The blue reiatsu forked from his hand and headed straight for Byakuya.

The captain's eyes widened in his surprise and he jumped away to avoid it. He could hear it slam into the rock and the rockslide it had created.

After a moment another shout was heard above the rocks, "Hadouno Sanjuuichi: Shakkahou!" A ball of red reiatsu flew up at Byakuya from within the dirt.

Byakuya tightened his jaw before using the shunppo to get to safety. He then moved quickly at Ichigo, making sure the dust was obscuring his movements.

Having returned both his hands to the hilt of his zanpakutou, Ichigo stood still and tense, his eyes and ears monitoring the surrounding area for any hint of movement.

A rock came flying out of nowhere, hitting Ichigo in the head.

He spun around and slashed in the direction from which the rock had come.

Byakuya came from the opposite direction and scored a hit on Ichigo's back.

Upon feeling the impact of the sword, Ichigo leapt forward to prevent a deep wound but grunted as the blade sliced the skin on his back. He whirled around and swung diagonally again.

Byakuya paused, pointing his hand right at Ichigo's face.

"Byakurai."

Ichigo's eyes widened and flooded with split second fear and confusion.

However, only a tiny spark jumped out at Ichigo. "You're dead." He lowered his hand, indicating the battle was over now, "Don't rush towards someone who can use kido at a whim."

The boy watched the captain, frozen by the lingering shock. After a second he shook himself from the reverie. "Then I need to learn to use it quickly too!" he cried determinedly, "That or I need to learn how to fight against someone who can."

"Nii-sama!" Rukia shouted, sounding angry. Byakuya didn't glance at her. He merely nodded at Ichigo.

Ichigo raised his sword. "Again, please."

Byakuya took a step back before lunging forward, sword sweeping at the orange-haired teen.

Ducking under the path of the sword, Ichigo darted forward.

Just as they were about to collide again, piano music rang from Byakuya. The man was obviously surprised. Then the captain disappeared and reappeared on a rock. He flipped open a cell phone.

"Hello?" Rukia blinked, mouth falling open.

Ichigo stumbled forward as he tried to stop his momentum. And then looked up at Byakuya, confused.

The captain was silent as the one on the other side of the phone started to talk. Byakuya's eyes lit up for a moment. "Yes, sir. I'll bring him." Then he hung up.

Renji sat up from his laid back position and Ichigo still stood below, both watching the captain intently.

"Kurosaki, you are wanted by the council."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

"Eh?!" Ichigo's eyes widened.

Renji grinned and got to his feet, "We're getting closer!"

"Then I believe training is done for today," Byakuya murmured, jumping down from the rock. Rukia grinned and got up, brushing herself off.

"Let's get going then," she urged.

"Going? To Soul Society? Now?" Ichigo asked, a bit shocked by the news.

"Yes. Least you want your reputation sullied by just being late," Byakuya said calmly, sheathing his sword.

Ichigo simply stared back for a moment before looking over at Rukia. His eyes were visibly full of surprise, anxiety, and even slight fear.

"Alright," he said trying to calm down and not let the others see his hesitation.

Renji separated himself from his gigai and drew his zanpakuto, ready to open the gates to Soul Society.

"Wait, Renji," Rukia called while pushing Ichigo in the direction of the hot spring nearby.

"I'm just getting ready," he called back flatly.

"You're probably sore. Get in there," Rukia growled, nearly pushing Ichigo in the pool before trotting away.

He struggled for balance so that he didn't plunge into the water fully clothed and once his feet were steady, he turned in the direction that Rukia had left. He paused a moment, then turned back to the spring and began to take off his shihakushou. Rukia was right, he was pretty sore, and he stretched as he lowered himself into the warm water. Relaxing and allowing his wounds to heal, he gazed up at the painted ceiling, which almost gave the impression that it was moving because of the rising steam. "To Soul Society, huh?" he said quietly.

Byakuya came over to Ichigo, frowning faintly. He stood a few feet away so that the other wouldn't feel like he was being watched.

"Kurosaki."

"Wagh?!" Ichigo spun around, causing water to splash about him. Even though the water and rocks hid most of his body from sight, it was still felt extremely awkward for Byakuya to be there. "W-what?"

"Rukia has told me that you are uneasy about becoming a captain."

"Um... well... yea..." He slowly lowered further into the water so that only his shoulders and head were above the surface of the spring.

Byakuya settled on the ground, back to Ichigo.

"It's because you have friends and family here."

Ichigo watched the captain's back, surprised at the accuracy of the guess. "Yes," he replied and his eyes dropped to the rocks on the edge of the water. After a moment he continued, "I'm... I'm still human. Whether or not I have shinigami powers, I still have a life in the human world. It's not like I can up and leave... But at the same time... I... I can't protect everyone if all I do is live a human's life..." He said all this quietly, not quite sure why he was opening up to Byakuya.

"It must be a hard choice. But in the end, it's up to you to decide; you know that. Do you remember what you told me?" The captain's head was bowed slightly.

Puzzled, Ichigo simply raised his eyes.

"About saving Rukia because she's my little sister. Isn't family the most important thing to you?"

Ichigo's eyes again sought refuge by focusing on nearby rocks. "I want to protect them. Not just family though... I want to protect everyone that I can... And even though I can't keep the whole world safe, if it's in my power to protect more people than I am, shouldn't I do it?"

"If you believe it is right," Byakuya murmured.

Continuing to gaze at the rocks Ichigo sat silently, reflecting on Byakuya's comment.

Byakuya stood and brushed himself off before walking away.

After watching him walk away, Ichigo sighed heavily and allowed himself to sink down into the spring, the water lapping up over the top of his head as he submerged. When he resurfaced he shook the hair from his face and looked up at the ceiling again.

"If I believe it's right?" He sighed again, lifted himself out of the spring, and proceeded to get dressed.

Only moments later, they were all back in Soul Society. Rukia stretched and looked around. Byakuya didn't stop to do that and simply walked forward.

Renji trotted after his captain and Ichigo followed silently behind Rukia.

Byakuya paused again and turned to them.

"You three wait here," he said before walking away again.

"I hope you're ready," Renji grinned at Ichigo as he turned to face him. Ichigo stared back in reply, his eyes slightly out of focus. After a moment Renji's grin morphed into a perturbed frown and he stomped over to Ichigo and waved his hand in front of his face, "Hello… Anyone in there? We didn't bring his gigai back with us did we?" Ichigo's hand shot up and stopped Renji's.

"I'm here, you idiot!" He shouted.

Rukia hid a giggle from behind her hand.

"Is there ever a day where you two don't fight?" she asked, making it a rhetorical question.

"Of course not," they snapped simultaneously.

"I wasn't asking you; it was rhetorical," Rukia stated, pouting a bit as she folded her arms.

Ichigo huffed and shoved Renji's hand out of his face. "What's Byakuya doing?"

"Probably talking to the other captains first," Renji said with a shrug.

Rukia glanced back where Byakuya had disappeared.

"Probably…" she agreed softly. A few moments later, the captain reemerged and motioned them to follow.

The rest of the walk was silent and soon they arrived in front of a sliding door which Byakuya opened. He walked into the room before taking his place on the left side of the room. Renji was to stand beside him and Rukia would stay with Ichigo.

His expression hard, Ichigo eyed each of the captains, making mental notes of those unfamiliar to him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," rasped the eldest captain. Rukia stiffened and stood at attention. Byakuya kept his eyes on his sister and the orange-haired boy.

Focusing on the old captain Ichigo stared back in reply, having nothing to say to a simple address.

"Captain Kuchiki Byakuya claims that you wish to become a captain of the Gotei 13," the elder continued. He opened his eyes slightly and peered at Ichigo from beneath his thick eyebrows. "Is this true?"

Sensing all eyes turn on him, Ichigo felt his heart speed up but tried to keep his breathing normal despite it. His eyes didn't leave those of the general. It was a while before he answered solidly, "Yes, sir."

At this there was a general murmur among the captains but old man remained silent and continued to study Ichigo through squinting eyes.

"Silence," Yamamoto growled after a while and the talking ceased instantly. "Captains, what is your opinion? Should Kurosaki Ichigo join your ranks?"

"Absolutely not!" Unohana, the fourth captain responded, firmly though gently, "He hasn't been properly trained, or gone through school. And to make matters worse, he's still a human."

"If he does his job, what difference does it make what he is? Just look at Captain 7..." Kenpachi said with a sneer.

Komamura bristled at the comment and scowled darkly at Kenpachi.

"I'm not sure he's ready just yet," Hitsugaya finally muttered.

"He doesn't deserve it," Kurotshuchi stated.

"Yes he does," Byakuya said quietly, "We would've been worse off if he hadn't been there when Aizen betrayed us."

The momentary awkward silence that followed this was broken by Ukitake.

"Byakuya has a point," he admitted, "This boy did stop the execution that Aizen had been counting on. Is that something any of us could say about ourselves?"

"We were acting under our laws," Komamura growled, "Something you cannot say for yourself."

"Oi, oi! That's mean," Kyoraku pouted.

"I agree with Komamura-san," Soi Fon stated, frowning at Ichigo, "The laws were written a long time before him."

"Also, it may have stopped Aizen for the time being, but didn't he get what he was looking for later?" Unohana pointed out. Byakuya swallowed a bit, but he didn't look nervous.

"Yes, and Abarai-kun did almost the same things Kurosaki did, didn't he?" Hitsugaya put in, "Besides, Abarai-kun has been here far longer than Kurosaki and he's had schooling. If Kurosaki is voted captain, then so should Abarai-kun." Rukia glanced at Renji to see what his reaction was.

Renji looked tense, as if he wished to say something, but he remained respectfully silent. Ichigo was also tense and his heart raced though he wasn't even sure which side he was on. His eyes followed the shouts through the air and traced through each captain.

"I don't ever recall the 6th vice captain defeating me in a full out battle," Zaraki said skeptically.

"I said 'almost'," Hitsugaya stated, glancing at him with a scowl.

"Abarai Renji isn't to be part of this conversation. The subject, again, is whether or not Kurosaki Ichigo should become a captain," Yamamoto said loudly.

"He's still a boy… He has a chance to do something more with his life other than fighting," Unohana said softly after a moment, "Kurosaki has friends and family in his home."

"He said himself that he wanted to protect them by doing this," Byakuya countered.

Another bit of silence followed as the captains thought over this statement.

Yamamoto caught Ichigo's gaze and pinned it down with his. In a demanding tone he questioned, "Kurosaki Ichigo, why is it that you wish to become a captain of the Goeti 13?"

The question struck Ichigo and left him feeling as if he had just been punched in the gut. His eyes widened slightly and he caught a sharp breath that he hoped was unnoticeable. His first reaction was to point at Rukia and say, "'Cause she told me to" but he knew that it had become more than that. He really did want to protect everyone. He wanted to protect... "'Go'" he replied definitively. "My name isn't 'strawberry'. It's ichi, go. One protection. I want to protect my friends, my family, even the people I don't know. That's why I helped Rukia as a substitute shinigami and that's why I still fight hollows even though Rukia's powers have returned. And that's why I'm here. I've thought about what it would mean... and my life in the real world is at a huge risk by my doing so... but I figure that if I have the ability to join the Gotei 13 and the ability to protect more people, then that's what I want to do." As he finished, he stared directly into the general's eyes and he smiled faintly, having won his internal battle.

Rukia smiled at him, tempted to touch Ichigo's arm to mentally tell him he did good. Everyone else seemed stunned by his response.

"I never thought I'd hear something like that from a kid," grumbled Kurotshuchi, glaring at Ichigo. Byakuya was watching Ichigo with a slightly lighter expression on his face. It wasn't a smile, but it wasn't a frown either. Unohana still looked a little doubtful.

"Are you sure you're ready to leave your life behind?" Hitsugaya demanded of Ichigo, "Like Unohana-san said, you have other priorities."

"I won't be leaving my life behind. My life is my friends and my family. I'll be protecting them, so I'll be protecting my life."

At that, Hitsugaya relaxed and smiled, saying no more. Byakuya glanced around, noting that only a few people were now against Ichigo.

Renji noticed this also and the smiled secretly behind Byakuya.

After a few moments, Yamamoto closed his eyes. "Captains, what are your opinions?"

"He needs a bit more training, otherwise, he'll fit right in," Hitsugaya stated immediately.

"I refuse to have a mere boy be a captain!" Kurotshuchi protested a second afterwards.

"Kurosaki Ichigo deserves to become a captain, he knows when to be mature," Byakuya said after a moment, adding just a touch of humor that startled Rukia.

"If he has his heart so set on doing this, then we have no right to stop him," Unohana murmured.

"This is our world! We have every right to stop him," shouted Soifon.

"Agreed," Komamura seconded, "Did the rest of us become captains simply by determination?"

"No, it took our accomplishments as well. However, are you suggesting that Kurosaki hasn't had his own accomplishments in this world?" asked Ukitake.

"Ichigo almost killed me while I was going all out," Zaraki said, tapping his eye patch and grinning in a wicked way that sent a shiver down Ichigo's back.

"He defeated me as well," Byakuya added softly, "through words and the sword. Determination is what fuels the accomplishments we make."

"I still don't think that this boy should become captain simply by saving some girl," Kurotshuchi growled, "If anything, he shouldn't have been allowed to come here again in the first place!"

At least it's him and not his little bow and arrow friend though," Kyouraku teased.

Ukitake continued talking before Kurotsuchi could reply. "Kurosaki isn't here because he saved Kuchiki, he's here because he's proven himself to be worthy of our attention."

"He's proven himself worthy of Kuchiki Byakuya's attention," Soifon growled in turn. Byakuya stiffened and pinned her with a gaze that made her look away.

"Perhaps he needs to show you what he can do," he suggested in a low voice that set several people on edge.

Byakuya's proposition startled Ichigo and his head turned to face him, something that he hadn't directed at anyone but the general since they had started talking. He looked at Byakuya confusedly and slightly concernedly.

However, the captain didn't look back at him. Several of the captains glanced at each other and then back at Yamamoto who hadn't said anything yet. Hitsugaya glanced at Ichigo, catching the startled look on the boy's face.

"Very well," Yamamoto finally said.

"Just what are we planning on doing?" Soifon demanded.

Ichigo returned his eyes to Yamamoto just as expectant for an answer as everyone else.

"Hitsugaya Toushiro," Yamamoto called and the small, white-haired captain strode forward. "You will face Kurosaki Ichigo in a fight to determine his strength and abilities."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Rukia's mouth opened and Byakuya looked startled for a moment.

Ichigo was even more startled. Why did he have to fight the captains when he wanted to join them? And this guy was short and young. How could he be expected to fight a kid? But he held his tongue knowing full well that any of those comments would have his newfound allies against him in a second.

Hitsugaya glanced over at Yamamoto then back at Ichigo. Then he turned to face Ichigo.

"Looks like we've got a one-on-one," he said casually.

"Why is he fighting Hitsugaya?" Komamura demanded.

"It was at random," Yamamoto responded.

Wondering how random an abrupt decision could be, Ichigo nodded at Hitsugaya.

The little captain walked up to Ichigo and stuck out his hand with a friendly smile.

Ichigo shook the outstretched hand and returned the smile, though it wasn't as confident as Hitsugaya's.

The other's handshake was firm and brief.

"When will we fight?" Hitsugaya inquired, looking back at Yamamoto.

"If you're both ready, now. I think the Soukyouku hill will serve as a good arena. No one will get caught in the crossfire and we'll all be able to watch."

Hitsugaya turned back to Ichigo with a grin.

"Ready, Kurosaki?" he asked.

The grin surprised him but after a moment Ichigo grinned as well. "Always."

"Great. Let's go then," Hitsugaya said and started out of the room. Byakuya caught Ichigo's eye and motioned for him to follow the white-haired captain. Rukia stayed back behind the captains.

Ichigo glanced back over his shoulder at Rukia and then jogged to catch up to his opponent.

"So, Kurosaki… Oh, would you prefer to be called by your first or last name?" Hitsugaya asked casually, starting up conversation.

"Eh? It doesn't really matter," he replied awkwardly.

"All right, Kurosaki then." Hitsugaya paused a moment, "How old are you?"

"15" came another simple answer.

The other whistled softly, looking impressed.

"Not even out of high school yet then."

Ichigo looked the captain over and without thinking asked, "You still in Junior High?"

At that, Hitsugaya nearly tripped. Then a vein popped out of his forehead and his reiatsu started to build.

"Excuse me…?"

Feeling the obvious increase in reiatsu, Ichigo stumbled slightly. "Uh, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"That's what I thought." Hitsugaya straightened himself and lost all humor. That comment hurt. It was even worse when he thought he heard Rukia giggle.

Ichigo sought to change the subject quickly. "So, um, how exactly are we supposed to fight? How much should we hold back, I mean."

"I'm supposed to push you to your limits, so most likely not. An enemy like Aizen wouldn't hold back would he?" Hitsugaya responded.

"Well no but we aren't exactly enemies..."

"You will not hold back," came Yamamoto's booming voice from behind them. "Captain Hitsugaya, you will fight using your bankai for as long as possible please. This is the level he needs to be at if he wishes to be a captain."

At that, Hitsugaya looked a bit nervous.

"Yessir," he murmured, glancing over at Ichigo.

Ichigo wasn't too surprised. He has expected to be tested for his bankai because Miss Yoruichi had told him it was required for captains to achieve before becoming part of the Gotei 13. He wondered if anyone but Byakuya knew he had that power.

Soon they reached Soukyou Hill. It was a barren, desolate place. The wind blew over the rocky ground hauntingly and memories began to play in everyone's minds.

Pulling his sword from his back, Ichigo studied his opponent. He knew that if Hitsugaya was going to use bankai, it would only serve in weakening himself if he didn't release his own. He pushed the sword around so that his arm held it parallel to the ground and pointed behind him. He knew that this was not an ideal starting position by any means but he tried to keep focused and not worry about what the others thought. He would start as soon as Hitsugaya did.

Hitsugaya studied the other for a moment before drawing his sword as well. Then he waited for the okay.

"Begin!" Yamamoto shouted from where he was and Hitsugaya charged at Ichigo, moving at blinding speed.

Being in no position to dodge, Ichigo swung his sword around and pointed it directly in front of him and shouted, "BANKAI!" The massive blue reiatsu that burst from zangetsu blasted dirt up from the ground creating a dense cloud around the fighters.

Hitsugaya moved back, shielding his face from the dust. But when it cleared a bit, he opened his eyes to see what Ichigo's bankai was.

The slender sword caught the light that sifted through the clearing dust and reflected it creating perfect contrast on the pure black blade. In a second, Ichigo shot forward and was instantly behind the captain with the tip of the blade behind at the center of the "jyuu" on his back.

Hitsugaya was stunned for a split second before he moved away, facing Ichigo again.

"BANKAI!" he shouted a moment later. A huge burst of reiatsu radiated from him, kicking the dust and several rocks into the air. An enormous pair of wings and a tail made from ice sprouted from his back. Three star-shaped blocks of ice appeared as well and Hitsugaya's sword arm was encased in ice, preventing him from loosing hold of his sword as well as serving as a shield.

Ichigo smiled. "Captains have such amazing bankai's, he said, "Mine looks so simple compared to yours and Byakuya's." He had lightened up and was in a better mood, as if fighting was giving him a chance to loosen up after the tense argument of the captains.

"A bit," Hitsugaya agreed, shifting slightly, "But simplicity can be the best sometimes."

He grinned and shot forward again, heading straight for Hitsugaya in the center of the ice.

Hitsugaya used his wings to propel him into the air before slashing at the ground with his sword. A huge crescent of ice was thrown from the blade, heading straight at the ground.

Ichigo's eyes had followed his assent and he easily dodged the ice. He jumped and darted toward the captain again by running on the reishi in the air.

Hitsugaya watched him come, glancing at the ground again. Then he charged at Ichigo, using the extra speed from his wings, sword at the ready.

Zangetsu's black blade sliced through the air that had become frigid with the release of the ice zanpakuto and headed for Hitsugaya's midriff.

Hitsugaya blocked the blade and swung the long tail around to hit Ichigo in the back.

The skin on Ichigo's back shredded from the impact and he flew toward the ground with a cry of pain. He slammed into the rocky earth causing more dust to rise into the air.

Back with the others, Rukia had attached herself to Renji's arm, eyes wide. Hitsugaya shot down towards Ichigo's still body, raising his sword to deliver a stab to his back.

Ichigo rolled over, taking in a sharp gasp of pain through his teeth as the rocks and dirt came in contact with his fresh wounds. He knocked Hitsugaya's blade away with his and continued to roll quickly out of range of another strike before he got to his feet unsteadily. His jaw was clenched in an attempt to ignore the pain searing through his back and his breath came in short, raspy bursts. The attack had made him realize that he wasn't just training with Renji or Byakuya who had been holding back slightly, this guy was out to kill him if need be. With this thought in mind, Ichigo took a deep breath and shot toward Hitsugaya again, this time darting in various directions instead of heading straight toward his target.

The white-haired captain focused on Ichigo, his teal eyes narrowing. He kept his guard up and didn't engage in combat with the other just yet.

Seeing that an opening due to an attack wasn't an option, Ichigo continued to dash around, scrutinizing his opponent. The wings were large and prevented a direct attack from behind, but they also created a blind spot for the person inside of them. He bolted around behind the captain, instantly changed direction, and headed straight for the spot where the right wing attached to the body. He ducked under it and attempted a slice at Hitsugaya from that direction.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he attempted to move away. However, the sword struck its target and cracked the ice. Once again, the huge tail swung around to hit Ichigo as well as Hitsugaya's ice-covered blade.

But Ichigo dodged by dashing forward and out of the tail's path. He skidded around and faced the injured captain. He knew that if ever there was a time to attack, it would be now, but having done so much running right after the shock to his lungs had worn him out quicker than he had expected and he stood with his sword at the ready while he caught his breath.

Hitsugaya didn't wait. He surged forward, face twisted in anger. He hated getting hurt in these fights. However, instead of trying to stab Ichigo again, he slammed his sword into the ground. Ice rushed out of the blade, heading straight towards Ichigo and fanning out in all directions.

"Wha?!" Ichigo leaped back just as the ice reached his feet but he landed on the frozen ground and slid backwards into a rock. Another sharp breath through his teeth was the result of his back being hit again. But he didn't allow himself to loose focus this time and he scanned the icy hill for Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya's large form wasn't that hard to loose. He skidded forward on the ice, perfectly in control and using it to move faster than normal.

Ichigo glanced at the ground and realized that he couldn't get any traction on the ice. He used the rock as a solid base and jumped into the air again.

Hitsugaya followed Ichigo with his eyes, stopping where he was. He couldn't exactly fly just yet. He glanced at his damaged wing then back up at Ichigo.

"I wonder…" he mused to himself.

A physical attack would be too much for Ichigo right now and he couldn't risk having to land on the ice so a dash toward his target wouldn't be the ideal attack. He pulled his sword around to his side, "Getsuga," and sliced through the air, "Tenshou!" The black crescent of reiatsu shot toward the ground at Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya dashed backwards, sliding a bit from the ice. He then used what was left of his wings to protect himself. Then he waited for Ichigo to come down.

The blast had smashed part of the ice away and the ground was visible. Ichigo saw that Hitsugaya couldn't fly with his injured wing, which meant that he had the upper hand while in the sky. If he went down to the ground, he'd be stranded on an island surrounded by ice, waiting for an attack from any side. But he was also being watched, and attacking from the sky like a coward wasn't going to show is abilities. And he dropped to the island of ground, ready for an attack.

Hitsugaya plunged his blade into the ground again. Ice spread over the hole in the ground again but this time, when Hitsugaya made a certain movement, spikes of ice sprang from the ground.

"Damn!" Ichigo cursed under his breath but he didn't jump into the sky again. Instead, he slashed through the air again sending another Getsuga Tenshou in front of him to blast away the ice.

Hitsugaya smirked and used the ice spikes to his advantage. He made them look like mirrors, so that his image was all over the place.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

"What?!" Ichigo scanned the ice furiously looking for any sort of hint as to the whereabouts of the captain. Without jumping into the sky, his only option would be to smash the ice, but using too many Getsuga Tenshous would wear out his reiatsu, so he set about smashing all of the spikes that were within the range of his sword from the island of ground he was permitted, all the while trying to raise his concentration on the surroundings for warnings of an attack.

Hitsugaya moved every once in a while, still trying to confuse poor Ichigo. He dragged his blade long the ice but the sound echoed, further confusing the other.

"Dammit," he growled. The scratching sound of the blade against the ice was irritating enough without having to try to guess which target was the real target. "If only I could gain traction on the ice," he thought. "Ah!" he gasped and looked at the ground. He jumped about a foot and when he cam down he hovered above the surface of the ice, standing on a thin layer of reishi. "Yes!" He dashed around the pillars, staying above the ice on the reishi that he would walk on in the air. He smashed the ice as he sped past, eliminating the mirrors a few at a time while searching for the source of the reflections.

Hitsugaya scowled a moment before smirking.

"Nice trick," he complimented, his voice echoing as well. More ice spikes appeared, creating more mirrors and more barriers.

"Thanks," Ichigo called back smiling, "Yours are starting to tick me off!" He continued smashing through the ice but he was constantly trying to figure out a better way to do so. His eyes widened and he skidded to a halt. He scanned his surroundings and then began to mumble under his breath.

"Ah," Hitsugaya noticed this before surging forward and attacking head on. He'd taken that time to heal his wing and now he could use it. The white-haired captain extended his blade with the help of the ice. Even though it was breakable, it was just as sharp.

But the captain noticed too late and Ichigo shoved his palm toward the attack that now revealed Hitsugaya's position and shouted, "SHAKKAHOU!!!!" The red ball of reiatsu burst from his hand and engulfed the ice extension, shattering the nearby pillars.

Hitsugaya instantly pulled upwards and into the sky. He scowled before diving back down to face Ichigo again. He glanced at his left shoulder, finding it starting to bleed. That only made him angrier.

Ichigo didn't make the mistake of hesitating again and he gripped the hilt of his sword and bolted forward, targeting Hitsugaya's forehead with the very tip of his blade, hoping to cut the skin above his eyes to impair his vision.

Hitsugaya used his massive wing to knock the other aside, cracking the ice just slightly once again. That hurt his shoulder, but he ignored the pain and went after Ichigo.

Hearing the ice crack as it slammed into him, Ichigo focused on it, and skidded around Hitsugaya's attack and slammed into the wing as hard as he could, using both his sword and his body to break it.

The wing snapped and Hitsugaya hissed softly. He drove his blade forward, scoring a hit on Ichigo's back where the wounds were still open.

"Agh!" Ichigo yelled as the sword sliced the tender skin, but he spun around and pulled his sword up diagonally in order to catch Hitsugaya's face.

The captain cried out in pain as the sword sliced across his cheek, nearly catching his eye. Blood spattered the icy grounds and slid down, melting the spikes just slightly. His tail whipped forward again in an attempt to get away.

Ichigo dodged the tail made another mad dash at the retreating Hitsugaya. He couldn't back down now that he had landed a hit. He made for the second wing and the injured left shoulder while avoiding the flailing tail.

"Not a second time!" Hitsugaya shouted, whirling quickly and slashing with his sword.

Eyes widening with shock, Ichigo leaped back from the sword's path. He slid his feet behind him and pushed forward, lunging again at Hitsugaya.

The captain oriented himself, splashing blood on the ice again from his shoulder as he moved. He too launched forward at Ichigo, wanting to land the killing blow.

His sword heading for Hitsugaya, Ichigo followed it's path and spun past Hitsugaya's blade. He continued to turn and swing his sword around to strike the ice on the captain's back.

"Ah… no…" Hitsugaya panted, watching the sword come as the ice started to fall apart, "Dammit no!" he shouted, frustrated. He collapsed on the ground, panting hard as the ice disappeared.

"Ah?!!" Seeing the shield of ice disintegrate, Ichigo pulled up on his sword to prevent the strong impact meant for smashing ice from shattering the captain's body. His arm raised, he began panting too as the effects of the battle began to catch up with him. After a moment, he lowered his sword and stepped back, still breathing heavily.

Hitsugaya, panting, shakily pushed himself up. He put himself in a stance that would keep himself upright for a bit.

"Sorry… 'bout that… Timed…" he breathed, looking exhausted. Meanwhile, the rest of the group rushed over, Unohana at the front.

Ichigo only breathed heavily and nodded vaguely in reply.

"You shouldn't have let them go this far," Unohana sighed, starting to work on Ichigo's back first. She made him get down on the ground so she could work better.

"Mm… protecting my pride," Hitsugaya responded.

Ichigo's back was heavily bruised and caked with blood from the numerous jagged wounds that ran the length of his back. "It could be worse," he said with a small laugh.

"Yes it could be," Unohana agreed, looking at Ichigo with something close to motherly affection. Byakuya watched on silently, congratulating Ichigo in his mind. Hitsugaya chuckled.

When Unohana finished, Ichigo stood up and stretched tentatively. Renji rushed up and landed a hearty slap on Ichigo's back accompanied, "Great job!"

This threw Ichigo to the ground again and he glared up at Renji as he hunched his back in pain. "You... _idiot_..." he growled as Renji laughed.

Then Rukia pounced on Ichigo.

"Ichigo that was amazing!" she squealed happily. Byakuya watched them with faint amusement on his face.

"Thing will certainly be livelier," Unohana commented.

"Heh, thanks!" He replied with a small cough as she hugged him.

Rukia continued to cling to him before glancing over to see Hitsugaya smirking at them. She blushed darkly and let go to retreat back to Renji.

"Pretty good for a kid without any training," Kyoraku laughed.

"It does take a lot to fight on equal level with a captain," Ukitake commented.

"Hitsugaya-taichou is young and can't even hold his bankai for as long as he pleases. How is defeating him a huge accomplishment?" Mayuri growled.

"I can hold it plenty long," Hitsugaya defended, blushing in shame. Byakuya smiled a bit at Ukitake's comment.

"He's defeated two and my vice captain," he pointed out softly.

Ichigo wanted to say that he'd now beaten 3, but he remained silent and glanced at Rukia and Renji.

"Well? Soutaichou, he's passed your test," Byakuya went on, turning to Yamamoto expectantly. The old man nodded a bit, scrutinizing Ichigo.

At the nod, Ichigo couldn't help but smile excitedly. Renji nudged Rukia and grinned as well.

Rukia grinned up at Renji and Ichigo, fisting a hand in her dress.

"He has proven his strength," the eldest captain agreed slowly.

"He beat up a kid," Mayuri muttered.

Soi Fon protested, "but Soutaichou, if we let every strong person join the Gotei 13, we'd have more than just 13 captains!"

"The problem is that we don't even have 13 captains!" Ukitake countered.

"I'm not a kid!" Hitsugaya shouted.

"SILENCE!" Yamamoto bellowed and the captains fell silent.

Ichigo scanned the captains and stopped his gaze on the general, waiting for him to speak again.

"This fighting will not get us anywhere," he continued. "We will take a recess. Hitsugaya-taichou and Kurosaki Ichigo, heal yourselves and rest. Everyone else please return to your division quarters and reflect on your opinion. We will meet back in one hour to make our final decision." He turned and instantly vanished in a speedy shunpo.

Everyone looked around and some of the captains began to leave but most didn't go straight back to their quarters as they had been directed to and they gathered together with the captains that shared their views and discussed it, furiously agreeing with each other's views. Hitsugaya got to his feet slowly and smiled at Ichigo. "Look's like you've got a better chance now." He walked off with help from Unahona.

Soon only Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya were left.

Rukia glanced around their little group. Byakuya looked deep in thought or he was just staring off into space.

"Ha! We did it!" Ichigo finally exclaimed. He ran up despite his injuries and scooped Rukia up in one arm and threw the second around Renji's shoulders and laughed. Renji joined in laughing and punched him lightly in the chest.

Rukia gasped in surprise but was also caught up in their laughter. Byakuya glanced at them with an amused expression but didn't comment.

"I was worried about you though! That battle was intense," Rukia commented after a moment.

"I wouldn't die here. And I won't be dieing any time soon," Ichigo grinned down at her, "I promise."

"Y… You better not!" Rukia growled, blushing, "I don't want to see you here permanently for seventy years or so."

Ichigo laughed.

"So are we going to stand around laughing for an hour? Or should we report to our division quarters like we were ordered?" Renji asked.

Byakuya shrugged a bit at that.

"It would be quieter," he said blandly as he turned and started walking away.

When they got to the building, Renji sprawled out on the ground and stretched. Ichigo sat down and leaned against the wall, smiling contentedly.

Rukia sat next to Ichigo and Byakuya took one of the only chairs. After that, the captain was completely silent, not even glancing up.

And after the initial excitement died away, everyone was silent. Ichigo stared up at the ceiling and Renji looked as if he was asleep.

Rukia suddenly pitched over in Ichigo's lap, fast asleep. Byakuya even had his eyes closed but it wasn't clear if he had fallen asleep or not.

Ichigo tensed and looked down at her, blushing, and then looked around the room to see if the others were looking, the red color on his face continuing to darken. But he couldn't keep his eyes astray too long and they pulled themselves back to the sleeping shinigami. He absentmindedly searched his memories to try and remember if he had ever seen Rukia sleep before. She'd always just been in his closet and he hadn't ever looked. She seemed so peaceful. Her hair fell gracefully over her face, out of place because she had fallen into his lap. He lightly pulled back a few stray hairs and he soon found himself softly stroking her hair. Once he realized this he sharply withdrew his hand. She was warm and he could feel her calm breath on his leg through his shihakushou. Feeling awkward with his hands at his side, he laid one on Rukia's shoulder and smiled. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, resting it against the wall.

Byakuya opened one eye to glance at them. He smiled faintly before closing it again. Ichigo would make a fine captain. An hour later, a black hell butterfly fluttered into the quiet room and landed on Byakuya's shoulder. The captain's eyes opened again and he nodded a bit before standing.

Ichigo had fallen asleep and his hand had slipped off of Rukia's shoulder. Renji was on the ground snoring rather loudly.

Byakuya walked over and nudged Renji's shoulder with his foot. He didn't expect that to wake him up, but it was worth a shot.

Renji choked in mid-snore and rolled away with a muffled grunt and continued to nap.

Byakuya gazed down at Renji, eyebrow raised. Hmmm... what would wake up a person like him...?

However, the silence of the room was broken. The door was suddenly shoved aside, making a loud crack and Hitsugaya poked his head in. He saw Byakuya standing over a sleeping Renji and smirked.

"Need help?" he asked, striding into the room. Byakuya moved back and gestured. So, the little captain promptly leaped on Renji's sleeping form, landing hard on him.

"GUHOAH!!!" The air rushed out of Renji's lungs and he was instantly awake. He pulled himself up, coughing violently. "What the hell was that fo-- Ah! Hitsugaya-taichou!" he began to bow but froze when he saw Ichigo and Rukia.

Rukia stirred and yawned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Hitsugaya had straightened and strode out the door, snickering to himself.

"Mmm... Ichigo...?" Rukia mumbled, half asleep still.

Ichigo, having always been a relatively sound sleeper, hadn't been affected by the noise. Renji stood and walked over to him. He stared down for a moment and then kicked him hard in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"Get up, lazy!"

Ichigo groaned and held his shoulder. "Idiot," he growled, "That hurt."

"It's time to go," Renji replied simply.

"I'm surprised you weren't hurt fukutaichou," Byakuya commented blandly as he strode out the door.

"Huh? Renji? What happened? What did he mean?" Rukia asked, confused.

Renji murmured, "I'm fine," as a general answer to both comments.

Ichigo stretched as they walked, though he was wide-awake and anxious as to the decision of the captains.

They all trooped out of the room, silent and anxious. They all met back in the same room of the original meeting and Byakuya took his place among the captains.

Renji stood behind his captain and closed his eyes. Ichigo stood facing the captains, directly opposite the general and Rukia stood behind him. Tense, Ichigo waited patiently for them to begin talking.

The captains all exchanged glances but most of them went to Yamamoto. No one said a word yet.

The soutaichou opened his eyes slightly and his gaze instantly fell on Ichigo. "Kurosaki Ichigo, do you know the ways that one can become a captain of the Gotei 13?"

Ichigo looked confused for a moment and then replied calmly, "No, sir."

"There are three ways. One: by passing the captain's exam in the presence of three or more captains, including myself. Two: Defeating a captain in the presence of no less than 200 shinigami. Three: receiving recommendations from six or more captains and having three of the seven remaining captains approve it." He paused before continuing. "You are incapable of officially completing the first way as you have not graduated from the Shinigami academy. It has been reported that you have defeated two captains and your capabilities were seen earlier in your fight with Hitsugaya-taichou. However, you were not in the presence of 200 shinigami. Therefore this option is also closed to you. The only other way is by the required number of recommendations from these captains present." He concluded.

Byakuya frowned faintly. He wasn't sure if the captains here would want to give recommendations. Hitsugaya folded his arms across his chest, his arms hidden by the long sleeves.

Staring back into the general-captain's eyes, Ichigo remained respectfully silent but nodded slightly to show that he understood.

After a while, the elder spoke again. "Captains, what are your opinions?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

"I believe Kurosaki is able to carry out the duties of a captain," Byakuya said after a moment, "He has my recommendation." Hitsugaya raised his hand to second it and smirked faintly. There was another silence before Unohana nodded.

"Yes, I believe he is able to become captain," she murmured.

"He has proven himself worthy of the position many times over. He has my recommendation as well," Ukitake said firmly.

"He did save lil' Rukia. I say he can be a captain," Kyoraku agreed.

"He'll have to stick around and fight some more if he's a captain. Bring 'im in," Zaraki said with an evil grin.

There was another silence before Yamamoto sighed.

"Even though I was against it, Kurosaki has proven himself," he admitted quietly, "I approve these recommendations."

Everyone was struck with slight shock at the general's approval. Those who had recommended Ichigo felt a wave of relief as the elder agreed while those who were against it felt a sharp sting of irritation and disappointment.

"If Yamamoto-soutaichou approves," Komamura interrupted the silence, "Then I approve as well."

There was another silence and Mayuri nor Soi Fon made a move to say anything. Then, when Yamamoto was about to reject Ichigo, Soi Fon raised her hand, glaring at the floor. She didn't want a guilty conscience.

Ichigo's eyes widened with excitement and he couldn't hold back a smile. He quickly hid them but his eyes still shone brilliantly.

"Very well." The general returned his gaze to Ichigo, "You have fulfilled the conditions of becoming a captain. You will assume the command of the 5th division." An air of apprehension filled the air at the decision as memories of Aizen were stirred. But the tension didn't last long as Yamamoto continued, "Welcome to the Gotei 13, Kurosaki-taichou."

Again Ichigo couldn't hold back his joy and a smile overwhelmed his face and the bowed at the waist. "Thank you!"

Rukia grinned and did the same. Byakuya relaxed on the sidelines and watched the two. Then they were all dismissed.

Once outside, Ichigo grasped Rukia's shoulders with hands shaking from the sudden release of tension. "We did it!!"

Renji slammed his palm into Ichigo's back and scowled at him. "You jerk! You passed my ranks..." Ichigo stood, surprised and suddenly afraid that he had insulted Renji.

"Renji... I..." he couldn't find anything to say. An apology wouldn't be enough to make up for this.

Renji glared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. "C'mon! You really think I'd let that bother me?! I can still take you on any day!" He punched him lightly in the shoulder, "Good job!!"

Rukia laughed and threw her arms around Ichigo's neck, hugging him fiercely.

"I'm so happy for you!" she squealed happily. Byakuya watched them from where he stood, looking amused.

"Ichigo!" The fierce voice of Kenpachi roared over the group. Ichigo jumped and wrapped his arms around Rukia in order to make it look like he was busy. "Don't expect me to call you 'captain'" Zaraki continued regardless of Ichigo's actions, "But I expect you to fight me soon," he growled before he left.

Ichigo sighed and let Rukia slide to the ground.

Rukia hit the ground, but didn't loosen her hold on the boy. Captain Hitsugaya approached him next. The little white haired captain looked him up and down for a moment before holding out his hand.

Ichigo shook it and smiled. "Looks like we'll be seeing each other a lot more."

"It looks like it," Hitsugaya said before smirking and crushing Ichigo's hand in his own.

"Ah!" Instinctively grasping his wrist with his free hand Ichigo let out a slight cry of pain.

The captain laughed and let go before bowing.

"Welcome to the Gotei 13," he chuckled and walked off. Rukia held in a giggle.

Ichigo glared after him as he massaged his hand. "Little brat," he muttered jokingly under his breath.

Ukitake and Kyoraku came up as Hitsugaya left. "Congratulations on making it in," the thirteenth captain said happily. "I look forward to working with you, Kai-" he paused awkwardly before smiling and correcting himself, "Kurosaki-taichou."

Kyoraku merely nodded and smiled.

Next Unohana approached Ichigo. She smiled at him gently. "Well, Kurosaki-taichou, I imagine you're going to get yourself into trouble with Zaraki-taichou. Know my team is open to you," she murmured, bowing.

"Thank you," he replied and bowed also.

She gave him another gentle smile before walking away.

Mayuri walked by without acknowledging Ichigo. After he had passed he stopped abruptly, spun around, and stormed up to him "You had better not take this lightly, boy." He turned and walked off.

Ruki watched him go and shivered slightly. That guy scared her a bit. Soi Fon approached Ichigo, narrowing her eyes at him. She stiffly held out her hand without saying a word.

Shaking it, Ichigo felt awkward but didn't say anything either.

The other captain bowed in respect before hurrying off.

The last two captains came together, Komamura following behind Yamamoto like a loyal dog. They bowed and Ichigo returned the gesture.

"You've done well to get so far considering," the general paused, searching for the right words, "Considering your current state. You will be receiving your captain's haori soon. Welcome to the Gotei 13." He bowed again and walked off leaving Komamura behind.

"Yamamoto-soutaichou seems to have interest in you," he said flatly before hurrying after the general.

When they had all left, Ichigo turned stiffly to his friends and paused. Then he whooped again and laughed aloud.

Rukia laughed as well and hugged Ichigo again. But to Byakuya, it seemed that the girl wished she could do something else. He shrugged faintly before stepping forward.

Ichigo received another hearty slap on the back from Renji and spun Rukia around once before turning to the fourth person in his excitement. "Byakuya, we did it!"

This time, the stoic captain actually smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Yes, you did," he agreed, holding out a hand.

Grasping it firmly, Ichigo grinned. He paused a moment before saying, "Thanks. For all the help and your support. We couldn't have done it without you."

Byakuya looked startled for a moment before returning the grip just as firmly.

"Always a pleasure to help a friend," he murmured and Rukia grinned widely at that.

Both Renji and Ichigo stared, dumbfounded at the captain's reply. Then Ichigo smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Byakuya clapped a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Kurosaki-taichou," he murmured, "welcome to the Gotei 13."

Rukia smiled and fisted her hands in Ichigo's sleeve. "Well, I'll show you to your quarters then," Byakuya said after a moment and let go of Ichigo's hand.

It took a moment for this to settle in. "Quarters?" Ichigo asked, surprised. "The 5th division quarters?" He stopped and thought how silly the question sounded. Of course it was the 5th division quarters.

Rukia giggled and Byakuya raised an eyebrow for a moment.

"Come along then," he said, starting down the hallways.

As they followed Ichigo bent down and whispered excitedly and jokingly in Rukia's ear, "I get my own quarters!"

Rukia snickered at that.

"Well of course. You're a captain now," she reminded him, jabbing him in the ribs with a finger.

He laughed and straightened up. "If I'm a captain then I have a vice-captain, right? Who is it?"

Renji cast a worried glance at him before looking ahead at Byakuya again. "Hinamori Momo," he stated.

"Momo?" Ichigo clarified, "A girl then?" Renji nodded. After a moment he spoke again.

"She was really attached to Aizen. She isn't over his betrayal yet. Chances are she won't like this," he said softly.

Byakuya nodded slightly and Rukia's grin faded.

"Probably not... So, don't take her words to the truth," Byakuya warned Ichigo as he stopped in front of the 5th Division quarters.

The doors swung open into a spacious room. They entered quickly and shut the doors behind them. Ichigo scanned the room and his eyes fell on a small girl.

She was sitting in front of a desk, staring at the wall in front of her. She was a small girl, looking only to be about Rukia's age in looks. Her hair was up in a bun that was secured by a light blue cloth but two strands hung by her face that came to her jaw. When the door closed, she looked over at them.

"Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-kun," she gasped, jumping to her feet and bowing deeply.

Renji bowed slightly and smiled at her. "Hey, Hinamori-kun. You're looking well."

Ichigo also bowed slightly but remained silent.

Hinamori gave him a small smile.

"It's good to see you... But who's this...?" she asked, turning to Ichigo.

"This is Kurosaki Ichigo, the new 5th division captain," Byakuya said in a firm voice. Hinamori stared at Ichigo.

"Nice to meet you," Ichigo bowed again, this time more formally.

Byakuya fixed Hinamori with a stare but she didn't move.

"You're... replacing Aizen-taichou..." she whispered and the other captain stiffened. "No! I won't allow it! It's your fault he's gone!" she shouted suddenly, "Ever since you came, he started acting strange! It's your fault! Yours!!" Then she fled the room, sobbing.

Shocked, Ichigo winced as the door slammed into the wall. After a while he smiled awkwardly. "That went well," he said sarcastically.

"Though she's much tamer than I thought she'd be," Renji admitted.

"Agreed, she could've slapped you," Rukia decided to point out. Byakuya sighed softly.

"Well, these are your quarters. You may decorate it as you like even though you might not be here all the time," he murmured.

Ichigo scanned the room again and nodded absentmindedly.

Rukia scowled up at them for a moment then she trotted over to the couch and grabbed one of the pillows off of it. She smirked at the three men and jumped at Ichigo, whacking him on the head with the pillow.

"Agh! What was that for?!" Ichigo cried. Then he dashed for the couch and armed himself before clobbering Rukia.

"Oi! You can't hit a girl!" Renji called after him, laughing and grabbing another pillow. He hauled it around with both hands and whacked Ichigo in the back, throwing him off balance and tearing the pillow slightly.

Rukia gave a yelp as she was thrown to the ground by Ichigo's attack. But she was soon on her feet again and attacking the new captain. Byakuya watched them, leaning against the doorway slightly. Well, this was amusing.

Ichigo dodged one of Rukia's attacks and it ended up hitting Renji in the face. The redhead retaliated and landed a hit on the top of Rukia's head as Ichigo whapped him in the stomach.

"Oh Nii-sama!" Rukia shouted before launching at her brother. Byakuya was caught off-guard and received a pillow to his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow before seizing the pillow from Rukia and attacking her. She squealed and ran off to find another pillow.

Renji and Ichigo laughed and joined the assault, attacking Rukia from all sides.

"Not fair!" Rukia shouted, grabbing a pillow and using it as a shield. However, Byakuya whacked her over the head from behind. Though it looked fairly comical; he was completely serious throughout this.

Pulling around with a strong swing, Ichigo scraped Rukia's pillow but kept the momentum and ended up knocking Byakuya in the side of the head. He instantly held up his pillow in a defensive position as he jumped back and cracked up. Renji hit him from behind yelling jokingly at the attack on his captain.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow before grabbing Renji's pillow away from him. Then he leaped after Ichigo, landing both pillows on the orange-haired captain's chest. After that, he turned on his vice captain. Rukia jeered at them both from where she was.

Being unable to resist the opening, Ichigo struck Byakuya's back and ran forward, grabbing the last pillow from the couch and tossing it to Renji as he went.

Byakuya whirled and caught Ichigo in the stomach as Rukia jumped on Renji's shoulders, intent on knocking him over so he would be an easier target.

Renji toppled over and rolled, pinning her against the floor and began a consistent flow of light blows to her head.

Rukia squealed loudly and used her pillow as a shield.

"Fukutaichou, that's not a very appropriate position," Byakuya called blandly before landing a blow on Ichigo's face to distract him a moment before going after Renji.

"She jumped on me first!" Renji cried, trying to reason as he ran from his captain.

Ichigo ran tackled Rukia as she got up and took up where Renji had left off, laughing loudly.

Rukia yelped loudly as she was, again, thrown to the ground. She scowled up at him before whacking him in the face.

"Hey, that's cheap! Not the face, cheater," he joked as he smothered her face with his pillow. Renji, still running from Byakuya, ran past and dragged Ichigo off of her in the process. "That's not a very appropriate position, Ichigo!" He called as he kept running around the room.

"Hypocrite!" Rukia accused past the pillow. Byakuya waited until both boys were away from his sister before using both pillows to hit both of them in the side of the head. But it was away from each other so they wouldn't get seriously hurt.

The both rolled to the side and landed hits on either side of Byakuya as they did so. Then they charged and began pummeling each other.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at this. Rukia finally got up and snuck up to her brother before whacking him on his back which caused him to stumble, but he whirled and retaliated.

Then Renji and Ichigo pulled around and ganged up on Byakuya again, striking him on the back as he went for his sister.

Byakuya, still using two pillows, started to use them much like he would a sword. Rukia jumped away, using her pillow as a shield again.

The younger boys saw and adopted Byakuya's style, using the pillows as their would their own zanpakutou, grasping them around the middle so that they would easily flow the way they wanted them to. This made for harder and more solid strikes.

Byakuya smirked at them before hitting Ichigo hard in the stomach with one pillow while whapping Renji in the face with the other.

Both boys fell back and paused before choosing their next targets. Renji went back after Byakuya while Ichigo dashed around to Rukia.

"Still trying to defeat me?" Byakuya inquired of Renji as he attacked the redhead. Rukia yelped and ran away from Ichigo.

"Even in a pillow fight!" Renji leered and targeted Byakuya's head. Ichigo jumped at Rukia and swung at her legs in an attempt to knock her off balance.

The girl cried out as she was knocked to the ground again. She scrambled to get to her feet though. Byakuya shook his head slightly, moving out of the way and hitting Renji in the back.

Renji spun around and pulled the pillow behind him, swinging it around at Byakuya's midsection. Ichigo loosened his grip on the pillow so that it was lighter and whacked Rukia's side as she stood.

Rukia spun and scored a hit on the side of Ichigo's face. Byakuya dodged again and grabbed Renji's pillow in an attempt to take it away.

Following through with the force of the jerk, Renji leapt forward, releasing his pillow and ripping one of Byakuya's from his grip. Missing Rukia because of the attack to his head, Ichigo fell forward, just short of Rukia's side.

Rukia smirked down at Ichigo before giving him one more good hit before helping Renji attack her brother. Byakuya, not expecting Rukia, stumbled forward from her sudden attack.

Pulling himself up, Ichigo darted toward the battle and struck Rukia in the back as he shot towards Renji. The redhead knocked Ichigo in the head and headed for Rukia and Byakuya again.

Suddenly, the door slid open and the little white-haired captain appeared in the doorway. He froze in shock and all activity ceased in the room.

"A pillow fight?" Hitsugaya asked, sounding shocked, "Kuchiki-taichou?!"

Renji couldn't help but snicker and Ichigo nudged him in the side, trying hard not to laugh as well.

Hitsugaya blinked. "Well, why didn't anyone inform me?" he demanded suddenly and leaped on Byakuya to steal one of the pillows.

The fight commenced, this time with Hitsugaya in the fray. Ichigo targeted Renji again. Renji dodged easily and landed a hit on Rukia.

Unfortunately for Hitsugaya, the door slammed open again and this time, Hinamori was standing in the door shocked.

"Shiro-chan!" she scolded, putting her hands on her hips. Hitsugaya was caught in mid-hit that was aimed at Byakuya. "What are you all doing?!"

"Pillow fight," Renji replied laughing.

"Want to join us, Hinamori-fukutaichou?" Ichigo asked, trying to be friendly.

The girl blushed darkly. Whether it was from rage or something else, it was hard to tell. Byakuya cleared his throat.

"She's right," he said softly, tossing the pillows back on the couch. Hitsugaya grumbled about bad timing before doing the same before he walked out the door, scowling. Hinamori blinked before rushing after Hitsugaya to try to fix what she'd done.

Ichigo straightened up. Renji stretched. "Well that was fun," he said as he relaxed.

"And a bit random," Ichigo admitted, laughing a little.

"Ahhh..." Rukia sighed as she fell back on the couch. Byakuya shook his head at them, amused. "Consider that a sort of celebration, Ichigo," Rukia said after a moment.

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks. That was fun."

She blushed before nodding.

"Y-You're welcome..." she mumbled.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Ichigo stood, looking impatient, outside of the 5th division building where Renji had said they would all meet in the morning. He stretched and yawned. He had slept alone in his new quarters after everyone had left and had woken up early. Today was Monday and he had to get back to the human world to go to school. He had just begun to question how he was going to manage his two lives when Renji called from down the street. "Sleep well?"

Byakuya was just strolling up, looking awake and his usual self. Rukia trailed along behind him and she on the other hand looked tired. She probably stayed up a long time, maybe talking with Renji or her brother.

"Yeah I guess," Ichigo replied plainly. "You ready to get back to school, Rukia?"

"I guess," Rukia murmured and stifled a yawn. Byakuya glanced down at her before putting a hand on her shoulder and saying something to her. She nodded a bit and went to Ichigo's side.

"Since you're a captain now and you still want to go to the human world, you're going to have to know how to communicate with us," Renji said.

"Communicate? Do I get a cell phone, too?"

"Eventually, but for now you'll have to settle for this." He pulled a small iron cage from behind his back. Inside was a calm, black butterfly. Its wings glistened lightly as they moved slowly. "This is a Jigokuchou. We use them to relay messages as well as use them as escorts between the worlds."

"It's simple to use them," Byakuya put in, "Just let them land on your hand and they'll speak to you in your mind."

"Telepathic butterflies? Kinda scary, don't you think?" Ichigo joked.

"Idiot," Renji mumbled. "Here, try." He opened the small door to the cage and the butterfly flitted out and around them.

"Let it land on my hand?" Ichigo confirmed as he held his palm up and watched the butterfly. It soared down to him and perched gracefully on the tips of his fingers.

"Test! Test!" Renji's voice rang loudly through Ichigo's head causing him to jump and throw the fragile creature into the air. Renji burst out laughing.

Rukia giggled as the butterfly moved back into the cage, fanning its wings every once in a while. Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"As I said: it's simple to use them. This is how we will communicate with you when you're in the human world," he said.

Embarrassed, Ichigo just nodded and clenched the hand that had been supporting the butterfly. After a while he asked, "You said we use them to get across the worlds. How does that work?"

"They're escorts. They need that ability," Byakuya murmured. "Unless you are led by a hell butterfly on a one-on-one basis, you can't use the official route between the worlds. Otherwise you'll end up in Dangai like when you entered Soul Society the first time."

"All right, let's go then," Rukia suggested.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed.

Renji unsheathed his sword and opened up a simple gate to the human world. He let the caged jigokuchou out again to take Ichigo through.

The butterfly fluttered for a moment before flying into the gate. Rukia followed after it.

Ichigo sped down the street towards his house, Rukia on his back. When they arrived, he left Rukia on the street and hopped in through his bedroom window.

"Nii-chan! You're going to be late for school!" Yuzu was calling through the door. He took his body from Kon and rushed to get ready. He sped out the door to meet Rukia and they both headed to school.

"Well, this makes life a bit more interesting doesn't it?" he said with a small laugh as they ran.

"Indeed it does," Rukia agreed with a carefree laugh.

They barely made it on time and Rukia fell into her seat, a hand over her heart to steady its fast tempo.

After a few deep sighs as he sat down, Ichigo's breath was under control and he settled in for a simple school day after his busy weekend.

School went on as normal, but during the middle of class, a little black jigokuchou fluttered into the room and hovered over Ichigo's head. Rukia blinked as the little insect fluttered above the new captain's head. It landed finally amid the orange color of Ichigo's hair.

His lack of sleep was catching up to him now and Ichigo had been half asleep when the butterfly had entered and he didn't notice it land on his head.

Rukia glanced at Ichigo, then at the butterfly. No one had noticed it quite yet. But one person turned and started to whisper beneath the teacher's lecture. Then the news traveled around the room. "Ichigo," Rukia hissed softly.

Slowly turning to look at her out of the corner of his eye he mouthed, "What?"

Rukia jerked her thumb at her own head, indicating him to do the same. The butterfly was calmly fanning its wings.

Ichigo furrowed his brows, confused, and slid a hand across the top of his head startling the insect and sending it flying around the room. It flitted around, drawing everyone's attention before returning to Ichigo who was now in shock from the sudden realization of all his classmates' eyes on him. He glared at the butterfly. How weird would it look for him to hold out a hand and have it land like a trained pet? He chose not to find out and set about trying to ignore it for the time being but it was persistent and it danced around his head, much to the entertainment of the class.

The butterfly was determined to deliver its message. Rukia stood up.

"I'll get it," she offered and trotted over to Ichigo. She caught the butterfly with her hands, cupping it so she wouldn't hurt it. "Ichigo, can you get the window for me?" she asked.

Muttering, Ichigo stood and slid open the window.

Rukia opened her hands and the butterfly landed on Ichigo's hand. Their backs were to the class so no one could see. The butterfly then delivered its message.

"Yo! Just testing to see if you can get it without spazzing," Renji's voice teased inside Ichigo's head, "Well. That's that I guess. Have a good day!" Tempted to crush the pesky insect, Ichigo's hand twitched violently.

"Renji you..." he growled quietly. He slammed the window shut and stalked back to his seat where he sat and glared ahead of him at no one in particular. After a moment, the class turned its attention back to the teacher who had paused her instruction for the butterfly and now resumed as if nothing had happened.

At lunch, Rukia approached Ichigo.

"So... what was the message?" she asked timidly. She knew Ichigo wasn't happy about receiving it.

"That damned Renji was just messing with me," he growled before taking a bite of his lunch.

"That's it?" Rukia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ichigo nodded and continued to eat viciously, glaring at the ground in front of him. Not long after, back wings caught the corner of his eye and he looked up to see another jigokuchou hovering beside him. He stared at it suspiciously before glancing around to make sure no body could see. He put his hand out and allowed the insect to land softly on his fingers.

"Guess who Did you freak out again?" Renji laughed from the butterfly.

Ichigo stood, swatted it away, and yelled at it, "Idiot!! Get a life!" When he followed the jigokucho with his eyes he saw a small gray cloud speeding across the sky toward them. When he realized what it was he cried out. Soon the swarm of black butterflies were flitting around his head and pestering him, each with it's own message. "That idiot!!!!!"

Rukia couldn't help but laugh. Renji must've been very bored. However, during the onslaught of random messages, one was from Byakuya.

"Do these things ever just leave?!" Ichigo yelled as he flailed about trying to swat them all away. "GAHHH! Alright fine! Here!" He thrust out both hands wide which allowed multiple insects to land on them at once. His face contorted in anger and some sort of pain as over 10 different recordings of Renji's voice played vividly in his head at once. When they finished reciting their message, one butterfly would leave off and another would land, making for a continuous loop of pointless rants. When the last jigokuchou left off Ichigo collapsed and put a hand to his head. "I never want to hear Renji's voice again," he sighed.

"Well... I got a message from nii-sama," Rukia said, giggling softly as the butterfly fluttered away.

"Lucky you... you got the intellectual one... Well what did it say?" he asked.

"He just wanted to inform you or me that your captain haori is ready," she told him.

"Okay. Are we supposed to go pick that up after school or something?"

"If you can," Rukia responded with a shrug, "Or I could pick it up for you."

Ichigo thought over it quickly. "We don't have much homework today. We can go get it together," he said simply.

Rukia smiled, willing away the blush that threatened to come over her.

"All right then," she said. She considered telling Ichigo... but then she pushed the thought away and continued eating her lunch.

After school, Ichigo waited for Rukia before heading out the door. "We need to stop by my house first, I can't just leave my body laying around," he said once they were out of earshot of any classmates.

Rukia grinned.

"Agreed," she said with a nod before starting to walk down the hallways.

As they walked Ichigo asked, "How exactly are we going to get there? Renji can open a gate with his zanpakutou, right? Can everyone do that? And how do we get a jigokuchou to escort us?"

"You have a jigokuchou and I can get it open," Rukia said with a faint smile, "Call it once you're ready."

When they reached the house, Ichigo went in and slipped past his family to his room where he replaced his soul with Kon.

Rukia paused. "Um... where am I going to put my gigai...?" she asked.

Ichigo was struck by the awkward question and he glanced about his room. "Yuzu usually does the cleaning during the day, so she won't come in here tonight if Kon stays downstairs. It'll be safe in the closet."

"Okay." Rukia then hopped in the closet. When she reemerged, she was a full shinigami again.

"Ready? You said you can open the gate right?"

"Yep. Call your jigokuchou," she said, pulling out her zanpakuto.

"Call it? How?"

"Use your mind... it delivered a message to you before right?"

Ichigo stared at her in confusion and then down at his hand in thought. He held his palm out as if allowing one of the black butterflies to land on it. Almost instantly, one fluttered into the room from space and glided around Ichigo. He grinned up at Rukia and with a simple sense of achievement said, "I'm ready."

Rukia smiled before opening the gate with her sword. The butterfly fluttered through it and Rukia followed.

Following his own butterfly, Ichigo walked quickly into the gate before it closed behind him.

They reappeared in Soul Society. Rukia glanced around as the butterfly hovered around them before flying off again.

Coming up from behind them, Renji kicked Ichigo in the back. "Hello, everyone," he said grinning.

"The hell was that for?!" Ichigo grunted as he rubbed his back awkwardly.

"To wake you up. You looked like you were spacing out there," he laughed.

"Hello Renji. We were informed that Ichigo's haori is ready?" Rukia prompted with a faint smile.

"Rukia managed to get the right butterfly out of all those damn things you sent at me, you jerk," Ichigo growled as he glared at Renji.

"Judging by the fact that there aren't any following you, you must have learned to use them then!" the redhead was cracking up. He quickly regained himself after Ichigo planted a firm punch on his head. "Right, right, right. The haori is ready. It'll be in your quarters. C'mon."

So the three of them trooped off to the 5th division quarters. The boys argued and occasionally gave each other meaningless punches. Rukia was quiet for most of the way, just watching them.

When they arrived, Hinamori had just brought the haori. She heard the door slide open and she turned slightly to see who it was. "Ah! Abarai-kun, Kuchiki-san... Taichou..." the last part was mumbled.

Ichigo smiled warmly, "Hey Hinamori-fukutaichou."

"Ichigo came to get his haori," Renji said plainly.

"Ah... Yes, it just came in," Hinamori said with a slight nod. Rukia glanced up at Ichigo, then at Hinamori before dragging Renji off.

"You try on your haori, we'll be right back," she said with a grin before pulling Renji out of the room. She felt that captain and vice-captain needed some talking time together.

When the door slid shut behind them, Ichigo turned back to Hinamori, feeling slightly uncomfortable but trying not to show it. "Uh... well... That's... That's it then right? The haori?" He pointed to the white bundle in the girl's arms.

"Yes... will... you be needing help...?" she asked softly, "I can get someone to help if you need it." She held out the clothing to Ichigo as she spoke.

"I think I can manage," he said with a smile. He unfolded the coat and held it at arms length. The diamond design that was on all the captain haori's stood out clearly on the back, the number "5" boldly printed in the center. The elongated diamonds that lined bottom flowed gracefully as he pulled the coat around and slid it on. When he fixed it, he turned to Hinamori. "How does it look?"

The vice captain moved it a bit so it was straighter before smiling hesitantly.

"It looks fine on you," she murmured.

Ichigo watched her for a moment and sighed very softly. "Renji told me that Aizen's betrayal shook you pretty bad," he said quietly.

Hinamori winced slightly and turned her gaze to the ground.

"It... was hard... very hard..." she mumbled.

He followed her gaze to the floor and remained silent for a second before continuing. "Listen," he returned his eyes to her face, "I know I'm nothing compared to Aizen but, I'm going to try my hardest to be a good captain. Better than he was. But I can't do it alone. I need your help, Fukutaichou. Together we'll be able to get the division back in order." He smiled down at her.

Hinamori looked up at him, looking a bit surprised. She hesitated on saying anything for a moment. Then she smiled.

"All right, Taichou," she murmured.

He put a firm hand on her small shoulder, "Good."

"Good luck. I hope Kenpachi-taichou doesn't hurt you too badly," Hinamori teased slightly, blushing.

"Ha! Don't worry about that. I'll be fine," Ichigo said confidently.

"Oi, can we go back in now?" Renji's attempt at whispering to Rukia could easily be heard through the door.

Hinamori blinked before smiling up at Ichigo.

"I'll open the door," she mouthed to him before stealthily moving to the door.

Ichigo watched with slight amusement as the door slid open.

When the door opened, Rukia fell in with a gasp and landed on the floor. She glanced up at both of them, blushing with embarrassment.

Renji snickered and Ichigo looked down at her looking confused. "You okay, Rukia?" He asked.

"I-I'm fine," she said quickly, jumping to her feet. Then she finally noticed Ichigo in his new haori. At first, she was unable to say anything; her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.

He saw her watching him and he turned around slowly, "Whaddya think?"

"Makes ya' look fat," Renji said casually. Ichigo swifly crossed the room and landed a punch squarely on Renji's face.

"I didn't ask you," he growled under his breath.

Hinamori stifled a giggle and Rukia smiled, relaxing.

"Looks good," she finally said.

Ichigo smiled at her greatfully. "Thanks," he walked over to her, "You helped me get it."

The girl blushed darkly and looked at the floor.

"Only.. only a bit... You did it mostly by yourself..."

"It was your idea though," he persisted.

This time Renji clued in to the atmosphere. He smiled sadly and then softly nudged Hinamori and nodded toward the door.

Hinamori glanced up at Renji then at the two before nodding and slipping out the door.

"Well... yes... but still," Rukia insisted.

Ichigo looked at her long and hard.

"I told you didn't I? Now I can protect everyone. You gave me that chance." He turned away and stared off toward the other side of the room. After a long pause he continued. His voice was calm and reflective, "Before I met you... Everyday... I always longed for power. I always wanted to protect everyone. I was always kicking myself because I couldn't." He smiled and faced her again, "Then you came. You gave me the shinigami powers. I could protect everyone! And you helped me! You taught me, little by little, how to be stronger. Then last week... Last week you gave me another way to protect everyone. You had me become a captain. Rukia... I owe this all to you. If you hadn't done anything... I'd still be off beating myself up and not moving on with my life." He smiled warmly, his eyes shining with gratitude, "Rukia... Thank you."

Rukia blushed darkly and looked at the floor.

"I'm... glad I was able to do something for you..." she whispered, "Ichigo... I..." Her heart started to pound hard in her chest and she put a hand over it as if to calm its frantic beating. "For... for a long time now..." How was she going to do this? "I've... been wanting... to tell you this..." Ah, stop hesitating!

"Tell me what?" He asked, clueless.

Rukia took a breath and despite her cool demeanor, the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"IchigoIreallyreallylikeyoualot!"

For a moment Ichigo stood, perplexed, trying to sort out the words. Then they decoded themselves and he instantly blushed darkly. The only thing running through his head was her sentence and he couldn't find anything to say. He stared at her with his mouth open slightly, waiting for words to come out.

Rukia nervously fidgeted with her sleeve, heart beating faster now. What was he thinking...? What would he do?

Turning an even deeper shade of red, Ichigo nervously scratched the back of his head and his eyes ran to focus on the wall beside them. "Um... uh..." He was having trouble thinking, much less talking. "Well... I... That is..." he stammered on, the color on his face continuing to darken.

"I'm... sorry it's so sudden... But things kept happening..." Rukia mumbled, still fidgeting with her sleeves. She had yet to look up.

"Ah... no... I mean... you..." Ichigo shut his eyes tightly in an attempt to get a hold of himself.

There was a small moment of stammering for Ichigo and Rukia shifted uneasily.

"Ichigo..." she finally murmured softly, taking a few steps towards him.

"Hm?" Ichigo forced his eyes back to her.

She hesitated a moment before pulling him down slightly and leaning up. Lightly, their lips touched...

The amount of blood that suddenly rushed to his head made Ichigo dizzy and his eyes widened with surprise.

Rukia only let it last a moment before she pulled back. She, too, was blushing very darkly and she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ichigo stared wide-eyed down at her, speechless. For a long while they both stood silent. Then Ichigo blinked quickly. "Rukia..."

"I-I'm sorry if... it made you uncomfortable..." Rukia stammered, blushing even darker now and refusing to meet Ichigo's eyes.

He watched her for another moment before taking her by the shoulders, pulling her in, and kissing her firmly with his eyes closed. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her close.

Now it was Rukia's turn to be shocked. At first she was stiff in Ichigo's arms but a moment later, she melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

They remained in that position long after the kiss had finished. After a while Ichigo squeezed her lightly before pulling back enough to be able to look at her fully and smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry if... it made you uncomfortable..." he said quietly.

"No..." Rukia murmured, smiling up at him, "Not at all..."

"Good..." He smiled softly. The red color in his face had lost much of its intensity but it was still very visible.

Rukia seemed to be about to say something when they heard faint footsteps. Then the door slid open, revealing Rukia's brother.

Embarrassed at being caught holding Rukia so close, Ichigo's red color increased again, but in a lighter color instead of the dark passionate one.

Byakuya looked at them for a moment.

"Nii-sama..." Rukia started, clinging to Ichigo. The captain held up a hand.

"No need to say anything. Your faces say it all. Come." He turned and moved out of the room, expecting them to follow.

Ichigo glanced at Rukia and slid his hand into hers and held it firmly. "Let's go then?" he asked quietly.

"Okay," she agreed, closing her hand around Ichigo's before they walked out of the captain's quarters.

When they came outside, Renji automatically saw their hands. A sharp pang of sadness tugged at his heart and he kicked himself for his selfishness. Another sad smile took root on his face and he turned to hide it. "Taichou went this way," he said as he walked away, following his captain.

Ichigo wordlessly trailed after him, still hand-in-hand with Rukia.

As they walked, Ichigo looked straight ahead. After a while he spoke. "Rukia, I..." he said, squeezing her hand lightly, "I'll always... protect. I'll always protect you. Always."


	10. Chapter X : Side Story

Protect – Chapter X (Side Story)

_**Spoiler Warning** - This short story take's place in the middle of chapter 4 of Protect after Ichigo's first day of training. This contains a major spoiler past the part required to read Protect. If you have not finished episode 111 or volume 21 (chapter 187), read at your own risk._

_Disclaimer - Bleach and all related characters used in this fanfiction are property of Tite Kubo-sama.  
This short story is written by me, not as a collaboration._

**()o()o()o()o()o()o()o()o()**

A street lamp flickered as it illuminated the road in front of the Kurosaki Clinic. The night was still, without so much as a trace of wind, but suddenly something stirred a couple of leaves along the sidewalk and they shot violently off the ground, blown by a short burst of air. A dark blur flew away from the small clinic. When it came to the end of the road, it leaped over the buildings and darted across the rooftops.

As it reached the eastern side of the town it dropped down and landed silently outside of a small traditional-style candy shop. The figure strode up to its doors raised its hand to knock but froze. There were other people in the store, fairly powerful judging by their reiatsu. After a moment of thought, he rapped quickly on the door and simultaneously let his own reiatsu flare for an infinitesimally small moment before shutting it down just a quickly. Almost instantly the door slid open with a rattle to reveal a tall, blonde haired man. He stepped out; his left hand perched atop his green-and-white-striped hat and the other grasping a short cane with which he closed the door behind him.

"What a surprise to see you here," he chimed quietly with a smile. "Forgive me for not inviting you in but I'm sure that you have noticed I have company. But what are you here for? And as a shinigami no less."

Isshin folded he broad arms. "It's faster along the rooftops." He glanced at the doors. "Who's here? I don't recognize their reiatsu."

"The 6th division captain and vice captain are staying here for a few days," Urahara replied in a casual tone.

"6th division?! What's going on?"

"As far as certain things are concerned, everything is alright," he mused. "But what are you here for, Isshin-san?"

The shinigami's eyes narrowed suspiciously but after a moment he answered. "Ichigo came home with a wounded arm today. Those weren't hollow wounds and your reiatsu was in the scars. What's going on? His involvement in Soul Society is already finished, isn't it? Then why is he here where you're housing captains?"

Urahara leaned back against the side of his store, reached inside his tunic, and drew out a paper fan with which he busied himself for a few moments. "Your son is training to become a captain of the Gotei 13," he said plainly, watching Isshin intently over the top of his fan. His vigilance was rewarded as Isshin's eyes widened and his arms dropped to his sides.

"What?!"

The fan hid the shopkeeper's slightly amused smile. "From what I've gathered, the 6th division captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, and vice captain, Abarai Renji, are on personal terms with your son and are acting outside of Soul Society's orders to prepare him for the trials that await. Today he was being taught kidou. His wounded arm was the result of a premature chantless spell. I healed it to a decent level."

"But why on earth…"

"Is it truly necessary for you to ask that question, Isshin-san?" Urahara interrupted. Upon seeing Isshin's vexed and confused expression, he sighed. He slid his fan shut and he smiled slyly, "What would be _your _reason for attaining captain level?"

Isshin stared back at him, his eyes wide with realization. "Don't tell me… He's doing it to protect people?"

"You two are very much alike in such respects," Urahara hummed as he stood upright.

"Does he have a chance?" Isshin's voice was firm and his expression serious, "Of becoming a captain… Does Ichigo have a chance?"

"Who knows?" Urahara yawned and shrugged, "He did survive breaking and entering Soul Society. If he can prove himself worthy of the position, he could get it." He glanced over at the black-haired shinigami whose brow was furrowed as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Does his involvement pose problems?" When Isshin did not reply, Urahara turned and placed a hand on the door. "Well, now you know. It's pretty late; don't you think you should be getting back home? Unless you have something else to ask?"

After a few moments' pause, Isshin sighed. "No. Thank you for telling me all of this, Urahara."

The storekeeper merely waved a hand as he walked inside and slid the door shut. Isshin watched the door for a minute or so before closing his eyes and turning away. He sighed heavily and looked up to the starry sky with soft eyes and a faint smile.

"To protect, huh?"


End file.
